Tomorrowland Transit Authority TwenyTwo
by DayDreaminDeb
Summary: Ranger and Stephanie are finally on their honeymoon to Disney World. But can they honeymoon without murder and mayhem. I don't think so either. Rated M for language and sexual situations. I've taken the time to finish this per your requests. Thank you.
1. TTA22 01 We're Going to Disney World

Welcome to Tomorrowland Transit Authority Twenty-Two. I try to make it a rule not to begin putting a story out there until I've finished it, but my muse has gone haywire and has left the continent. Because I've had a lot of requests, I'm going in without the story being done. Please forgive me if it takes a while. You likely won't get a chapter a day for your morning coffee and I'm afraid at this point it'll be more like one a week. But I'll do my best.

I do not own what JE owns. I use them, abuse them, love them and daydream about them. Someday I'll return them. The characters I have created are my own. I make nothing off either set. I hope you enjoy.

I also do not own Disney World and it's my favorite vacation destination in the world and I've been hundreds of times. I would never intentionally harm the world, the people, the characters and most definitely not the mouse or the incredible Walt E. Disney. This story is a work of fiction and Disney World is where it takes place. With respect to Disney, this is only in fun and I'll leave you at least as good as I found you and hopefully you'll have more people visiting after they read this.

* * *

My name is Stephanie Manoso. I'm married to the most incredible hunk of man flesh on the planet. I'm six weeks pregnant and I'm going on my honeymoon…to DISNEY WORLD. I'm a little excited. I didn't even know till last night…about Disney World, not about being pregnant. I already knew that part. Anyway my sexy husband, Ric, wanted to surprise me. He surely did. After finding out we were going to Disney World, I was too excited to sleep. So I spent the night thanking my husband for making another one of my dreams come true by making most of his come true. Of course, not the butt thing…I don't do the butt thing. But the rest of it I was open to.

Anyway, we made it to the airport in Newark by ten after five and I wasn't even sleepy. I wasn't. I was still excited. He'd even bought me a couple of books about Disney World. He got _**Birnbaum's Official Guide to Walt Disney World**_ and _**The Passporter**_. I used my time before our flight wisely studying the maps and reading all the tips. I needed all the help I could get, we'd only be there for two weeks and there was a lot to see. Ranger…well, he worked. Sigh…

Walt Disney World has four theme parks, two water parks, a virtual theme park and a Downtown shopping district. It also has two miniature golf courses, five world class golf courses some of which are on the PGA tour, horseback riding, spas and health clubs, Walt Disney World Speedway, a nature reserve, tennis, boating and all kinds of water sports including deep sea fishing excursions, the World of Sports complex and so many fireworks displays, parades and character things that my mind is whirling with the possibilities. Not only that, there's food. There's a lot of food. There's food from all around the world. I'm telling you, I'm going to be in heaven and I don't care how crowded it is. Besides, I'll be with Ranger…he's a one man path clearer.

Finally they boarded us on the nonstop flight into our first class seats. I settled in by the window in seat 1D and Ranger sat beside me on the aisle in 1C and crossed his feet in front of him and crossed his arms and closed his eyes and was out. I guess he thought we were going to be pretty safe on the plane. Or I wore him out. I like to think it was both. Besides, I was going to keep my eyes on the wings and make sure they did what they were supposed to do without any interference from Gremlins, geese, or intergalactic space objects hurtling to earth. Yea, I take my job seriously.

And…to make things even more special for me, he hadn't packed a single black thing except for one jacket. He was wearing jeans and a tee shirt. He looked so good he was edible. You'd think I'd be sated enough not to gaze at him with longing, but…I wasn't. The more I have of him, the more I want of him.

When we landed in Orlando at Orlando International Airport, I was practically jumping up and down in my excitement. We were in Orlando! This is a place where dreams come true and mine were about to continue to come true. I also planned to make a few more of Ranger's come true too, but that's another story. We debarked and strolled hand in hand toward baggage claim. A uniformed driver in a hat was holding a sign that said Manoso. We approached him and Ranger gave the guy our luggage tickets. He turned us over to woman wearing a Disney uniform who escorted us to the waiting limousine and got us settled in while we waited for our luggage. She then proceeded to give us the run down on our stay.

"Hi, my name is Karen and I'll be your contact here at Walt Disney World."

"Hi Karen," I smiled. "I'm Stephanie and this is Ric."

"Hi," she beamed. "You're staying at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa," she smiled. "It's our best resort. You'll be in the honeymoon suite in a turret. You'll have a king-size bed, a view of the Magic Kingdom and a spa tub."

"A view of the Magic Kingdom," I said in awe.

She grinned, "Yes ma'am. "It's actually a view of the castle itself." We all know what I think about being called ma'am. Thank God I don't need my therapist anymore.

I sighed, "It's just Stephanie."

"Okay Stephanie," she nodded. "We have made you a reservation at the Magic Kingdom for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table which is the restaurant inside the castle. You have the Premium package including all food and wines. You'll basically have unlimited use of our resources and as much food as you can eat."

"I can't drink," I sighed. "I'm pregnant."

She smiled, "we have some darling baby clothes here. You're going to love it."

I perked up.

"And you've been pre-checked in," she smiled at the driver as he joined us in the limousine and pulled away from the curb. "When we arrive, I'll take you up to your room and get you settled. Mr. Manoso the groceries and other things you've requested have been delivered and put away."

"Thank you," he nodded.

"You're on a concierge level of the hotel. This includes complimentary breakfast buffet, drinks whenever you like and snacks. There is also a light supper served there nightly with drinks. There are snacks set out there throughout most of the day. Under the circumstances I don't expect to see you there much," she smiled benignly at me.

"Probably not," I agreed.

"Your husband tells us that this is your ideal honeymoon destination."

"It is," I sighed. "We've been married since the middle of February…"

"The thirteenth," Ranger said lazily as his fingers traced patterns on my hand.

"Right," I nodded. "We've just been so busy we haven't been able to get away till now." I knew my husband. That casual tracing he was doing meant he had something else on his mind. It meant that I was about to get an earth shattering orgasm. My do-dah began to dance with anticipation. I tried telling it, telepathically of course, that it had already been satisfied on numerous occasions throughout the night. It ignored me.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," she smiled. "We have about a thirty minute drive. Do you have any questions for me?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I don't have any idea what our package contains. I mean…what exactly do we have?"

"Everything," she beamed at me. "You can do anything your heart desires pretty much. All you have to do is pick up the phone and dial 19. That will connect you to me. If I'm not at my desk, I'll get back to you as soon as I return. Whatever you want to do means anything from a behind the scenes tour to special seating at our fireworks events including on boats in the coves. Whatever you like," she said seriously. "If you want a spa day, we'll make it happen. If you want to go deep sea fishing, we will do that. We're going to make all your dreams come true."

I smiled, "he already did that." I gestured toward Ranger. "You're the icing on the cake."

She laughed, "I'm very happy for you Mr. and Mrs. Manoso."

I blinked. I think it's the first time I've heard the phrase strung together. I turned and beamed up at Ric. He smiled back. He knew. He always knows.

The lobby of the Grand Floridian is absolutely that, it's grand. I've been in some respectable hotels in my life. This one ranked right up there. Everything there was some shade of white except for the flowers and the guy in the tux playing the grand piano in the middle of the room. Oh my heavens it was grand. Beyond check-in the lobby was open several floors up. I would have counted them but I'm afraid all I could do was look up and say wow over and over again. Ranger just grinned at me.

The hotel, like all of Disney's hotels, was themed. This hotel was themed to be some sort of relaxed Victorian getaway from the turn of the century or before but with lavish accommodations. It was beautifully done and the staff, or cast, was dressed in costumes of the period to enhance the effect. I was delighted.

Our suite was in the outer building. I'm not sure what that really means except that it meant we left the main building and wandered a bit. Karen showed us the monorail station and where the boats were docked that would take us to the Magic Kingdom or the Ticket and Transportation Center. She showed us where the buses were and where we could easily rent a car. She made sure that we knew our way around before taking us into our building and onto the elevator and up. We were on the top floor. Our suite was down the long hallway in the corner.

She opened the door and my breath caught again. It was lovely. It was decorated in greens and pinks and peaches. The decorations were a little girly. Ranger glanced around and sat down on the sofa and left me to it.

Karen showed me the entire suite and explained everything to me. She told me that the best way to get to the Magic Kingdom was to take the monorail straight there. She said from there, it was a short walk into the park. The castle, she pointed outside the window, was straight ahead from the entrance. We couldn't miss it. Our dinner reservation was for seven and the park closed that evening at eleven.

I thanked for all of her help and they finally left us there alone after Karen made sure we didn't want someone to unpack for us. Ranger was pretty adamant about us unpacking for ourselves. I started to wonder just what he had in his bag of tricks. He didn't even have a duffel bag. He had a couple of pieces of actual luggage.

It turns out that it didn't really matter what was in his luggage, it was what was in his pants that he was concerned about. I told you. I know him. The patterns on my hand were a dead giveaway. It's one of those things he does to keep from thinking about me naked so he doesn't get a hard on. Sometimes it works. I have to think it worked this time; Karen didn't blush or have heart palpitations any worse than anyone else that saw him. I wondered how those women who swooned when he came near would react if they saw him in all his naked erected glory. It still made my breath catch, my heart beat out of control, my panties soak, and I almost immediately get lightheaded. I have to assume they'd react similarly. Honestly, Ranger is as powerful as any nuclear weapon. If they harnessed that…the world would be in trouble.

We were in our room by 11:30AM. I was naked by 11:35AM. I was screaming his name, in his shoulder to muffle the sound, by 11:55AM. Yea, I'd say the vacation started about right. After we came, he even let me nap. He didn't really have a choice since he rendered me unconscious. So, our first day at Disney World and I wasn't even going to get to ride _**Space Mountain**_. Oh well, the ride I was on was undoubtedly better.


	2. TTA22 02 Magic Kingdom Please

So it's like this, Janet Evanovich created these characters that are pretty cool. She plays with them in her own way and for some reason that I'll be eternally grateful for she allows us to play with them in our own way. She makes buckets of dough, I make nada! She owns hers. I own mine. They usually, sometimes play nicely together.

Once again, I have taken a lot of artistic license as to the inner workings of Walt Disney World. I mean no disrespect. I love and adore the place.

* * *

He let me sleep till about four o'clock and then he decided it was time for round two at Disney World. For me it was more like round five, but he's a man so he only gets one at a time. Damn I'm glad I'm a woman. Anyway, after we christened the sheets in our suite again we showered and started getting ready to go. I put on some shorts and a tee shirt. That's acceptable wear almost anywhere on Disney property. I was sitting on the couch tying my shoes when he came out of the bedroom and my mouth dropped open.

Of course, he looked good…sexy fine good, but that wasn't why. He had on cream colored cargo shorts, a blue Ocean Pacific tee shirt and sneakers...yea, no black. He kept his word to me and was introducing color into his wardrobe on this vacation. I almost jumped him and took him back to bed. Instead, I got up and reached up and put my hand on his forehead to check for fever. He laughed.

"Wow," I blinked. "You're hot in black. In shorts you're…"

"Want to go back to bed," he raised a brow at me.

"Yea," I said and started tugging his shirt up over his head.

He laughed and put his hands on mine and pushed his shirt back down. "Stephanie, you need to eat. We need to go to Disney World. That's why we're here."

"I thought we were on our honeymoon," I said suspiciously.

"We are," he agreed and tugged me against him. "But you haven't eaten since breakfast at the airport. I know you're hungry. The bean is hungry. We need to eat or we won't have enough energy to practice making more babies."

"Harrumph," I grunted.

"What does that mean?"

"What we did wasn't baby making practice," I said seriously.

"Can it result in baby making," he raised a brow at me.

"Yea," I nodded, "but the way we were doing it wasn't for the abject purpose of making more babies…or practicing the ability to make more babies. It was purely for sky rocketing orgasms."

"No kidding," he chuckled.

"Laugh away hot stuff, but we're still in the room and my panties are getting wetter by the second."

He pushed me away to arms length. "We are leaving the room."

"Why? Are you getting raw?"

He laughed, "No. But I am getting hungry."

"Wow," I blinked. "This is a first."

He grinned and grabbed my hand. "Where do we go," he said as we left the room and headed for the elevator.

"Downstairs and to the main building so we can catch the monorail on the second or third floor," I said. "We'll follow the signs."

"Then let's do this thing."

There weren't many people waiting for the monorail. As a matter of fact we were the only ones there other than employees. I might have thought we were at the wrong place, but there was this uniformed conductor looking guy. He was waiting there near the tracks. I figured he knew what he was doing. We didn't even have to wait long. We were there only seconds before the monorail pulled up.

"Want to ride in the front," the guy grinned as the family who had occupied that car got out.

"Seriously," I blinked

"Seriously," he laughed.

"Yes please," I giggled and I would have been jumping up and down, but Ranger was holding my hand and I think I saw him roll his eyes. I got into the almost empty car and took a seat and Ranger sank down beside me. The front car is kind of weird. You don't notice it so much when you're sitting still, but when you're moving…it's freaky. It's almost like you're suspended in air over nothing. You don't notice it so much in the other cars, but in the front one…you can definitely see how narrow the track is versus how wide the monorail is. It was exciting and a little bit scary. The engineer guy assured me that it was very safe. He even gave us some little monorail pins to wear. I was thrilled, Ranger…not so much.

We got off the monorail and waved goodbye to the engineer and went down the sloped sidewalk to the ground below. At the bottom of the ramp we veered left and went through security before heading past the ticket booths straight for the turnstiles. At this time of the day not many people were entering the park. It was almost five o'clock and more people were leaving than entering. I saw that as a good thing.

I could see Ranger checking the perimeter. I rolled my eyes and tugged at his hand once we passed through the turnstiles. "We're at Disney World Ric. We're in the friggin Magic Kingdom. You do not have to assess the situation to determine our security. We're safe here."

He shook his head with a slight smile, "Babe, its habit."

"I know," I smiled and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek, "but we're on vacation. We're on our honeymoon. Relax and enjoy it, please."

He laughed and put his arms around me and kissed my head, "all right. Where to first?"

"We need a map," I said seriously.

"I thought you'd have it memorized by now," he grinned.

"I would," I admitted. "But I was too excited. If I'd had time to plan I'd have it all mapped out."

"I know," he kissed me again, "but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Okay…I'm surprised. Now, let's go in."

He grinned, "Let's go in."

We entered the tunnel that was under the rail road tracks that carried the Magic Kingdoms antique steam powered trains around the park and grabbed a map as we went. I even grabbed one in Spanish. I was trying to learn it so I'd know all things he whispered to me when we made love. I had a feeling much of it would make me blush, but I still wanted to know.

Ranger grabbed a map in English and swapped it in my hand, "you're not here to work."

I shook my head at him. "We have two hours till our dinner reservation. What do we do first?"

"Why don't we shop," he grinned at me. "This whole street is lined with stores. We can have it sent back to our room or to the main gate and we can pick it up on our way out."

"Sounds good," I nodded.

"Why don't we stop at that kiosk and get some popcorn or ice cream first though," he suggested. "We need just enough to tide us over till dinner."

"To quote Lula," I grinned up at him, "that mess is just gonna piss me off."

"How about a hot dog then," he suggested.

"Sounds good," I nodded.

We ate hot dogs we got from Casey's Corner. We sat outside so we could look around and just soak up the atmosphere. The hot dog meal came with fries and a drink. I got the small one, I didn't want to ruin my dinner and Ranger did the same. After we finished eating we headed back through the restaurant and into the first set of shops. We wandered through the shops and picked up a lot of items. I shook my head when we got to the check out. We had to sort it into two piles. One pile would be sent to our room, the other pile would be shipped home. And more shocking than that, Ranger picked out most of it including things for the bean.

We finished the first side of the street and figured we'd have just enough time to walk up and make our fifteen minute time-line for our dinner reservation. We checked in and took a seat in the already slightly crowded waiting area and people watched. A couple of the Princesses came out to entertain old and young alike. I got a picture of Cinderella with Ranger. He was mid eye roll, but I was giggling.

Dinner was tremendously good. I started with the corn & crab soup and Ranger had the BLT salad. We shared both, but I finished mine. Then I had roasted Prime Rib with grilled asparagus and roasted fingerling potatoes in a Cabernet sauce. Ranger had the pan grilled salmon with whole grain pilaf and asparagus in a rosemary-lemon honey. I let him have a bite, but that's all. Then we shared a chocolate crème cheese buckle. I say we shared it, but he only got a couple of bites. On the plus side, he still has all of his fingers.

It was almost eight thirty by the time we walked out of there. Now I had a different kind of sated. I knew I wasn't ready to ride any thrill rides so the big three mountain rides were out. No _**Space Mountain**_, _**Splash Mountain**_ or _**Big Thunder Mountain Railroad**_. Instead we wandered over to the _**Haunted Mansion**_ and rode that, then by some miracle I talked him into _**It's a Small World**_. We headed for Tomorrowland next. We rode _**Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin**_a couple of times before going for a nice sedate spin around Tomorrowland on the _**Tomorrowland Transit Authority**_or the TTA.

We rode it through at the nice pace watching the world go by and just relaxing and kissing and I giggled and he grinned. We were just leaving either the _**Carousel of Progress**_or Space Mountain (the TTA takes you inside the rides on the perimeter) when I got the tingle. My eyes grew wide and I gasped.

"What," Ranger frowned.

"Shit," I sighed.

"No," he shook his head adamantly, "no. We are not doing this."

"I can't help it," I winced.

"Babe…we're on vacation. We're on our honeymoon."

"I know," I sighed.

"We're not even in the suck zone."

"I know," I agreed with a nod. "It still happened."

"No," he continued to shake his head.

"I got a tingle Ranger."

"No…you did not just get a tingle of the 'this isn't good' variety. I don't believe it."

I sighed heavily.

He groaned and slouched down in the seat.

That's when I knew he was as excited about being at Disney World as I was.

The next words came in almost a pout, "What was it?"

"I don't know. Let's go around again."

When we got to the unloading area Ranger asked the guy if we could do it again and he nodded and closed the gate to our car. A few moments later we were whizzing off along the elevated rail ride with the breeze blowing my ponytail back and Ranger's expression becoming more and more grim by the second.

This time when I saw it, I knew what it was. When we got off, Ranger pulled the guy aside and told him we needed security to go around with us.

The guy frowned but paged someone from Security to come up. Five minutes later, the ride was shut down for the night. The Magic Kingdom had its first murder. Cinderella never stood a chance.

A man in a suit walked briskly over to us about half an hour later. "Mr. and Mrs. Manoso," he said offering his hand to Ranger first. "I'm Jack Margolis. I'm head of Security here at Walt Disney World."

"Yes," Ranger nodded, "it's nice to meet you Mr. Margolis."

"It's Jack."

"I'm Ranger."

He nodded, "I'd ask how you're holding up, but according to my sources you should be handling this just fine. We're not doing so well on our end though."

"I'm very sorry," I said anxiously. To tell the truth, I was terrified they'd kick us out and tell us to never return. I hadn't even eaten my way around the World Showcase at EPCOT yet. They couldn't kick me out yet.

"Mrs. Manoso, this is not your fault. You didn't murder Sandy, did you?"

"Oh no," I said aghast. "And I'm Stephanie."

He smiled, "I'm happy to meet you."

I leaned forward, "she's not the same Cinderella we had at dinner, is she?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Do you have a time of death yet," Ranger asked.

"Er no," he frowned.

"Has anyone done a liver temp?"

"No," he frowned again. "Mr. Manoso…Mrs. Manoso, may we speak frankly?"

"We'd prefer it," Ranger nodded.

"Come with me please," he said and led us inside the Carousel of Progress. The entire park was emptied of guests. It was well after midnight and I didn't even get to see the fireworks. "We police ourselves here. We've never had to deal with anything as severe as murder. We've had a few stolen cars, a couple of cases of assault, some petty theft, but we've never dealt with anything that would be of this class. Our force is qualified by the state to do it…you understand, but we don't really know what we're doing here. I've run a little background on you. You are qualified."

Ranger sighed, "We're on our honeymoon."

"I know. I wouldn't ask if I didn't feel I really had nowhere else to turn. You're known for your discretion. I need help. We need help. It would be very difficult for us to explain this to the media without repercussions. We need to deal with it quickly, quietly and as efficiently as possible."

"But…"

"I will make it worth your while. You and your family will be able to come here for up to one month every year for free…from now on. We'll also offer your staff a substantial corporate discount. We'll offer a fifty percent discount to all your staff…for the rest of time," he sighed. "It's a very generous offer."

I nodded at Ranger adamantly.

Ranger smirked. "I'll need to bring in some staff. You need to get a liver temp. Is there anyone here qualified to do that?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Get that so my staff can give us a time of death. My men and I will need to have the run of the place."

He nodded, "of course."

"And we'll need some space to work. Do you have anything? We'll need to be on-site and we'll be bringing in some equipment. It will need to be somewhere that is remote so nobody will notice our equipment. But it can't be so remote that it will look odd as we come and go."

"Of course, I've been authorized to offer you rooms in our new facility for anyone you'd want to bring in as well as the conference rooms and everything below. Everything on the top level is three bedroom home away from home suites. The floor below is a mix of two bedroom and studio home away from home suites. There are conference rooms on the second floor. The facility is scheduled to open to the public in September of this year. We will stop work on the building while you're investigating. It's ahead of schedule anyway. You'll pretty much have the entire building to yourself except for maid service. Will that be acceptable?"

"We'll need to interview any maids that are allowed in," Ranger said seriously. "We have to eliminate them as suspects before we allow them to be around our evidence."

"Of course," he nodded.

"I'll put together a team. In the meantime, if you've got a couple of evidence collection kits, Stephanie and I can start now."

"Yes of course," he waved a security guard over and gave him a run down and requested the kits.

"I need to make some calls," Ranger sighed.

At five am we finally went back to our suite. I dropped the evidence kit on the floor and flopped face down on the bed in exhaustion.

"I'm sorry Babe," Ranger groaned.

"Me too," I managed over the muffles.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised as he rubbed my back.

"You always do," I sighed and turned toward him. "Who's coming?"

"Mitch, Tank, Cal, Brian, Woody, Gabe, Manuel and Jess," he said with a sigh as he tugged my shorts down.

"The dog girl," I asked.

"She's a cover," he shrugged.

"What," I frowned.

"I need Manuel. I need everyone to blend in at the parks. So they're all bringing their spouses or girlfriends or whatever. Manuel doesn't have a girlfriend, so he's coming with Jess if they don't kill each other."

"Why would they kill each other," I frowned.

"Because Manuel said that Jess let her dog contaminate some evidence," he explained.

"Did it," I blinked.

"Well, he collected the evidence. He's a blood hound. He carried it back in his mouth. Manuel thinks it's contaminated, but that's what these dogs do. They had a big fight…verbal only of course. But they pretty much got into each other's faces. Hal said it was hot. Hal and Marilyn Dinks broke up so he's probably feeling like he… Anyway," he continued after seeing my raised brow, "they were going at each other pretty hot and heavy. Apparently he kept calling her Cookie and she didn't like it."

"Cookie," I raised a brow.

"Hal said Manuel told him it was because she smelled like cinnamon and snapped like Ginger. He figured she'd know if he called her Ginger Snap, so he called her cookie. Hal thinks he has a thing for her…a sexual thing," he grinned.

"Hal needs to get laid," I shook my head.

"Find someone to fix him up with," he said with a smile.

"I'm running out of people Ric. How many single friends do you think I have? I'm almost thirty-one for God's sake."

"Okay Babe," he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, she's training the dog to stay and call so someone can collect the evidence properly in the future, but it's a new idea…it may take a while."

"Is she bringing the dog?"

"Yes and no," he said. "She's bringing the dogs, but they'll be housed at the local fire station while we're here. She'll visit them there."

"Okay," I nodded.

"And they're bringing a crime unit truck up from our Miami office and dropping it off. We need the tools. Greta promised she'd load it down. They can't spare anyone from that office right now, too much is going on. I was lucky to get the truck."

"I'm sure," I yawned.

"We're just going to blend right in," he sighed tiredly.

"Who's coming with Mitch and Brian then," I frowned.

He grimaced, "your OB/GYN, Kate is coming with Brian and Mitch is bringing someone else you know."

"Who," I frowned.

"Your second cousin Ali," he shook his head. "It was your father's idea."

"Actually, that's a good match," I shrugged. "Ali's a former Navy Seal. She got a medical out after a shark attack on a mission."

"Seriously…a Navy Seal," he blinked. "There aren't that many female Seals."

"She's a badass," I nodded.

"I'm looking forward to meeting her," he nodded.

"Not too much I hope," I said and rolled toward him.

"No…not too much," he said and proceeded to rock my world.


	3. TTA22 03 Men in Black Do Not Fit

The usual disclaimers about ownership apply. Someday I'll give em back.

* * *

I woke up about noon with Ranger's hand on my ass and the persistent ringing of a phone in my ear. One of those items I was used to, happy about and willing to explore further. The other, well I wanted to throw something across the room and break it.

I reached for my cell phone, "hello."

"Oh did we wake you up Sleeping Beauty," Mitch said merrily.

"Don't make me kill you," I growled. "Where are you guys?"

"Right outside your door," he said and knocked.

"Shit," I groaned. I struggled to my feet and grabbed the supplied robe out of the closet and went the door. When I opened it I was stunned. There were fourteen people standing there and they all surged forward hugging and kissing as they went.

Ranger appeared in the bedroom doorway wearing his shorts from the previous day and a scowl. His chest was bare and his hair was standing up. Damn he looked sexy. I wanted to grab him return to the bedroom and remove that scowl and his shorts...not necessarily in that order.

"Coffee," Woody said and put a cup into Ranger's hand.

"Hey," I pouted.

"One cup for you too," Padma kissed my cheek and handed me the cup. "It's French Vanilla with cream and sugar."

"You're the best," I sighed and sipped the hot brew.

Ali entered and looked as spectacularly fit as she always looked, "hey Ali, you look fantastic."

"So do you," she grinned. "When did you get the boobs?"

"They came in with the pregnancy…killer huh?"

"Oh yea," she nodded. "Is that what I'll have to do to get some?"

"Or buy them," I shrugged.

She sighed.

"You didn't have those when we were together," Brian muttered under his breath when he hugged me.

"You didn't knock me up," I giggled.

"Touché," he shook his head.

"Well everyone," I grinned. "Welcome to Disney World."

"We're damn happy to be here," Lula grinned.

"Oh hell yea," Natalie laughed. "I friggin love my job!"

I laughed. Where else but Rangeman would you have the opportunity to spend some time at Disney World on the company dime and solve a murder? I'm guessing there aren't many places.

Lula smirked, "but…it was real quiet back in Trenton. You could hear the traffic lights change color it was so quiet."

"It was that quiet," Ranger said in amusement.

"It was so quiet," Cal added, "you could hear the planes landing in Newark."

"That quiet," Ranger nodded.

"We were gone for less than a day," I reminded them.

"I guess it was long enough for you find a corpse," Lula said and strutted over to Tank waving one hand like she'd gotten me good.

"So…you had a murder and we didn't," Cal grinned. "We had no dead bodies, no FTA's and no break-ins and you had a murder...on your second day at Disney World. The way he said it was much like a bunch of five year olds on the playground would say it. The only thing missing was the nanny-nanny-boo-boo. He was practically dancing.

"It's not like we ask for this stuff," I sighed.

"Damn Stephanie's spidey sense," Ranger sighed.

"I'm not happy about it either," I growled. "I was on my honeymoon. I was going on sedate rides at Disney World. I was eating a lot of decadent food. I was getting…"

"Shh," Ranger's had slid over my mouth.

"Too much sharing," I peeked up at him sadly.

"Too much sharing," he agreed with a nod and sank to the chair by the couch and pulled me onto his lap.

"So what happened," Kate frowned.

"We were on the TTA…"

"TTA," Gabe frowned.

"The Tomorrowland Transit Authority," I said patiently. "It's this sedate raised rail ride in Tomorrowland that zips in and out of the attractions over there. It gives you a little taste of the rides available, but it's a very calm easy ride. It's perfect for the end of the day when you're pregnant. You may want to make a note of that Padma."

"Done," she nodded.

"Anyway, we were on it and I felt the tingle. I knew something wasn't right, but I didn't know what. So we rode it again and the second time we went through I knew it right away. There's this hairdresser window for the Buzz Lightyear's ride and she was sitting in the chair with her head under the hair thing. But see…she was wearing the Cinderella costume…so I knew that wasn't right and well, she was a little too real. Disney's animatronics are good, but they're not that good."

"So we called security. They police themselves, but have no experience with murder. We do. So here we are," Ranger finished.

"And where are we staying and where are we setting up," Tank asked.

"We're staying at a new building that's not yet open to the general public and that's where we're setting up. Our liaison, Karen, who's with the hotel staff will be here in a few minutes to take us over. I called her before I came out," Ranger pursed his lips. "But I'm seeing a small problem here. Babe," he waved his arm toward the people in the room, "do you see what I see?"

"They're never going to fit in," I sighed.

"Exactly," Ranger nodded. "Ladies, get the men's sizes, you're going shopping."

"Oh boy," Natalie grinned.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about," Lula grinned.

"Give me fifteen minutes to tame my hair and we'll go," I headed for the bathroom.

"Have you seen your hair? It's gonna take longer than that," Lula shook her head.

"Bite me," I glared.

"Babe...scoot," Ranger said and patted me on the ass. "I'll pack us back up."

I headed toward the bathroom with a scowl. I had a friggin murder on my honeymoon. I hadn't gotten to take advantage of any morning wood. People were making fun of my combination bed head-sex hair. They were giving me hell about murder following me wherever I went. If they kept it up, there would be more dead bodies piling up at Disney World. Sure, it may be the result of friendly fire, but that's not my problem. I have hormones. I have needs. They aren't being met!

Twenty minutes later we were in the shop downstairs and the girls were shuffling through racks and stacks with intense looks on their faces.

Karen stood by in awe. "Is it always like this," she blinked.

"No, but sometimes," I smiled. "They didn't think about blending in. Our basic uniform is black. I think if you saw a bunch of men and women walking around in black in the parks, you'd think something was up."

"I think you're right," she nodded, "especially your guys. I have to tell you, they're pretty intimidating looking."

I grinned, "And they're good at what they do."

"So I've heard," she nodded. "And they're hot," she blushed.

I laughed. "Yes, they are."

"How much do we need," Connie frowned walking up to me with piles of clothes in her hands.

"They have to be dressed for a couple of weeks," I shrugged. "Just get enough to get them to the other hotel without alarming anyone for now. We'll go to Downtown Disney and do some real shopping later."

She nodded.

"But if you see more that will work, go ahead and get it now."

"Okay," she agreed.

"I love my job," Natalie sighed piling things on the counter.

Two hours later Karen was walking us down the hall to the rooms on the top floor of the new Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. "All the suites on this floor are three bedrooms. We realize that you've had to make personal sacrifices and we hope you'll be comfortable. We've emptied one of the bedrooms of bedroom furniture and set up work stations and computer tables. We have Wi-Fi we also have our own in house Internet."

"We'll use our own satellite system," Ranger said. "It's more secure."

She nodded. "The conference rooms have been set up as you've specified. Each of the rooms has a map, some guide books and the other information you've requested Mr. Manoso. We've stocked the kitchens as you requested as well. She paused at the first door. "This suite will be for," she blushed and glanced up from her notes, "Woody and Connie?"

"That's us," Connie said.

Karen blinked. I'll be honest. I've known Connie almost all my life and I still blink. I mean she's got to be the closest thing to Dolly Party to ever come out of New Jersey. With her black hair dyed blond, she was not as much Betty Boop these days as she was Dolly. She was, in my opinion, more attractive though, especially since she started waxing her mustache off. There was only one thing that was irritating about her. The woman has boobs to spare and she didn't have to double her weight to get them. Personally, I'd have probably reduced them by now if they were mine, but I could tell Lula was jealous.

She gave Connie two key envelopes, "you're key cards are in there. It's good for your room and for all your food and admittance to the park. Our chief of security will brief you in the conference room at three o'clock to let you know which entrance to use when you're carrying weapons."

Woody nodded and he and Connie entered their room and closed the door behind them.

Yea, I knew that would happen.

The next door we dropped off Gabe and Padma, then Manuel and Jess who were scowling at each other when they entered the suite. The next door was for Brian and Kate, then Cal and Natalie leaving the last two suites for Tank and Lula and of course us.

"Downstairs in an hour," Ranger said briskly.

Tank nodded and disappeared into their suite.

"Do you think they're all having sex," I asked Ranger as the door closed behind us.

"Most of them," he sighed. He shook his head to clear some images and sighed, "What do you want to do?"

"Go back to bed," I admitted, "but I know that's not doable, so I guess we'll unpack and get situated. We need to turn the evidence over to Manuel for processing too."

"I'll do that, you start unpacking," he said grabbing the cases.

"Okay," I nodded.

An hour later we were in the conference room and there were legal pads out and pens to the ready. The security guy got everyone up to speed. The victim's name was Sandy Rice and as it happens she was from Trenton. I know…I was shocked too. As a matter of fact, she was Lucille Rice's daughter. Lucille is one of my mother's friends, she's also one of the women my mother uses against me whenever I get into scrapes. Oh not anymore, I'm in pretty good shape these days. I'm practically the Madonna. I crossed myself quickly. Anyway, whenever I got into something my mother would say 'Lucille Rice's daughter never rolls in garbage' or 'Lucille Rice's daughter doesn't burn down funeral homes'. I've got a new one for you, Mom. Ellen Plum's daughter didn't end up dead on an attraction at Disney World. At least, I haven't as of yet.

He told us the liver temp of the victim and the time the temperature was taken. Kate spoke up and asked what the temperature in the location of the body was and he said it was maintained at an ambient 75 degrees. She put the time of death at approximately 3PM. That let Ranger and I off the hook as the doers. We didn't even enter the park till 5PM. This is a fact that we pointed out to Jack immediately.

"Actually," he smiled, "you entered the park at 4:49PM. The key cards are tracked."

"Of course," Ranger nodded. "You do realize that this has to be an inside job. It couldn't have been a casual guest to the park. It had to be someone with access to your backstage areas."

He nodded grimly. "We're currently cross checking all employees who were in the park on that day either as cast or as guests. We'll have that list shortly. Now that we have an approximate time of death, we'll narrow the search a little more. Then we'll cross check that against anyone who was active at the time…working an attraction, shop or whatever and get a list of idle employees. Then we'll turn that list over to you."

"We have a Crime Unit Truck scheduled to be delivered here today. Is there somewhere we can park the truck without anyone seeing it and worrying?"

"Of course," he nodded. "This building has an underground entrance that isn't visible unless you're really looking. I'll show you where that is and you can direct them there at that time." He gave Ranger a set of keys and a handful of passes. The keys are to this building, the passes…one for each of you, give you access to the backstage areas. When you go backstage, I'll need you to wear an ID badge. After we finish this briefing, our staff," he pointed behind him, "will make the ID tags. Please note that a lot of things happen underground that we don't want our guests to be aware of."

"Am I going to be destroyed," I sighed.

"I don't know," he winced. "We have a lot of people employed by us with alternate lifestyles. There's a good chance you'll see a couple of princesses in a warm embrace."

I sighed, "Great.

"Of course, the utmost discretion would be appreciated."

"Of course," I nodded.

"Karen will continue to work as your liaison. She has been briefed as to what has occurred and will assist you in any she can. If you dial 23 on your phones or anywhere in the park you'll get my offices. Karen is extension 19 from this hotel. You'll need to dial 519 outside of this hotel. If you need me by emergency, my number is on the access cards I've just given you. I appreciate you taking the time to blend in. My staff at the check in desk at the hotel about passed out when you came in the building. But…you look great now. Mr. Manoso, do any of your employees fall under the six foot mark?"

"I do," Natalie blinked.

"Me too," Jess shrugged.

"Male employees," he said softly.

Ranger grinned, "a couple. They mostly work research."

"I see," he said quietly. "We have no official cause of death from the coroner as of yet. As soon as we know, we'll notify you."

"Thank you," Ranger said with a nod of his head.

He nodded. "Good luck. Thank you for assisting us."

"You're welcome."

So on the second full day of my honeymoon at Disney World, I got an ID card for the backstage area of the parks. I learned that there may be some princesses underground swapping spit. I got a single cup of coffee and a time of the murder. Things were just flowing right along. They just weren't flowing on a path I had thought it would be on.

"You know…this is kind of like when Tank and I got married," Lula said thoughtfully. "It just seems like every time we got something going on, the shit hits the fan."

I sighed, "It does seem that way."

"I think we need some lunch and some shopping, and then we can work," Lula frowned.

"I think you're right," Ranger said.

"What," I blinked up at him and all the other fourteen pairs of eyes followed mine in shock and astonishment. Ranger had obviously been replaced by someone else.

"We've got shorts and tee shirts on," Ranger shrugged. "We need to relax."

"Dude," Cal blinked.

"I'm on my fucking…er…friggin honeymoon," he glared.

Natalie raised a brow at me.

"We're working on our language for the bean," I shrugged.

She grinned and nodded.

"Right," Cal nodded. "Let's go eat and shop."

We took the bus to downtown Disney. For some reason nobody wanted to share the bus with us so we got it to ourselves. Of course, we do take up a lot of room.

We had lunch at Planet Hollywood. That was a place that we fit in without really trying. I got the impression that everyone thought we were from Hollywood ourselves. There were some big honking men there and everyone in our party was doing okay on the attractive scale. Granted, the scale depended a lot on a person's personal preferences, but if you ignored Cal's big tattoo covering his scalp and looked only at his face, he was hot. Natalie saw it and so did I. Actually, as I looked around the restaurant, a lot of people saw it. I guess people with discerning taste go to Disney World. In any case, it was flattering. I had the chicken, penne and broccoli and Ranger had the manicotti. We shared a dessert sampler and he actually ate quite a bit of it.

Kate linked her arm through mine as we walked toward the shops from the restaurant, "is this sort of field trip common in your company?"

"Far more common than you'd think," I agreed with a slight smile.

"So…are you guys hiring," she beamed.

I laughed, "We don't have much call for an OB/GYN on staff, but I'll bring it up to Ranger."

"Thanks," she grinned. "Oh and Brian…he's really cute. Don't you think he looks like Carter Oosterhouse?"

"Yea," I laughed, "I do."

"I hear you two used to be an item," she raised a brow.

"Yep," I nodded. "He was my between Joe and Ranger guy."

"Would it be weird for you if I dated him, I mean like for real?"

I grinned happily, "No, it wouldn't be weird at all. Brian is one of my dearest friends. I'd love to see him happy."

"Sure you don't mind," she said softly.

"Absolutely not," I shook my head. "Go for it."

"Really," she beamed.

I laughed, "Trust me; I'm not just saying it. I would love for him to find someone great. He's an incredible person. You could do a lot worse."

"I'm making a move," she grinned and hurried toward him.

I shook my head with a smile.

"What's so amusing," Ranger asked catching my hand in his.

"Kate likes Brian. She asked my permission to go for it."

"Really…you mean like the man code?"

I laughed, "Yea…like that. She also said that if you ever want to hire an OB/GYN on staff, she's your girl."

He laughed, "I'll keep that in mind."

"So, why aren't we all in murder solving mode," I asked.

"Because we don't have an official ruling from the coroner yet," he said softly. "It could be an accidental death." He looped his arm around my neck and kissed my curly head.

"Right," I nodded my head at him in shock. "I can see how you might think it could be an accident. So, here's my take. She thought she'd go hide under the hair dryer at the Buzz Lightyear promo and just fool around. She was probably playing hide and go seek with Prince Charming and Goofy," I rolled my eyes. "It's murder Ric."

"I know that," he laughed. "But we still have to wait for an official ruling."

"Right," I sighed. "I can still hope it will come back as she met her demise due to an aneurysm or a diabetic coma left untreated or something like that?"

"You can," he nodded. "But would you get a tingle for a natural death?"

I sighed, "Probably not."

"Then I'd say it's a murder, wouldn't you?"

"I can hope."

"You can hope."

"I won't hold my breath," I sighed.

"You probably shouldn't," he agreed. "As soon as we hear its murder, we'll get into gear. Plus, my crime truck's not due here till eight tonight," he said grimly.

"Ah," I nodded.

"So, just enjoy a little bit of Disney World Babe," he said softly and kissed my head.

"As long as we're here together, I'll be fine. But you do owe me another vacation."

"Babe…I'm not sure the rest of the world can handle Manoso vacations."

"They need to get used to them," I said serenely.


	4. TTA22 04 Asphyxiation

I don't. She does. She does. I don't. Clear?

* * *

When I woke up the next morning I was alone again in the bed. It was a different bed than I had woken up in the previous day and all the fine details of my honeymoon started coming back to me. It started out with the occurrences in that same bed the previous night, that brought a smile and a hint of bemusement to my face as well as a pulse of need in my nether regions. Then I remembered poor Sandy Rice and the pulsations slowed. They didn't disappear altogether. What? Don't look at me like that. You haven't seen my husband naked. And before you ask…no, you can't.

I went to the bathroom and did my business and washed my face and brushed my teeth and headed for the kitchen to make coffee. Ranger was sitting on the couch in all of his naked glory listening to someone talk on the other end of the cell phone. He winked at me as I went by. I made the coffee and then went to the couch and sat on him straddling him and began to nibble kisses along his neck. His body started reacting almost immediately. He scowled at me when his erection brushed my do-dah on its way up.

I just grinned and started kissing down his body toward that part of him that I had the complete attention of.

"Yes, I understand Hank. We're on it. We'll await your fax," he snapped the phone closed and dug his fingers into my curls. "Jesus Babe, can you wait to do this when I'm not on the phone with a client?"

I lifted my head and the erection exited my mouth with a pop. "If you wouldn't work naked first thing in the morning, it wouldn't be a problem."

He tugged me up his body and lay me on the couch and bent over to kiss me hungrily. "No matter where we are or what we're doing, my body reacts to you if you give it so much as a slight nod of interest."

"Then get used to being permanently aroused Ric," I grinned up at him, "Because you have much more than a slight nod of interest from me…you can be sure of it."

He growled and nudged against me, "Let's see if we can work some of this excess energy off of you before the morning meeting."

"Goody," I whispered as his mouth descended again.

I wouldn't say that my excess energy was worn off when we arrived at the morning meeting. I'd say it was just sparked. Ranger had on light green cargoes and a Mickey Mouse shirt. He was freaking adorable and I wanted to eat him up. Or lick him up like a Mickey Bar, either way I wanted him in my mouth and I do mean all of him.

Then Tank walked in wearing Disney cargo shorts and a Goofy tee shirt and my resolve turned to giggles of glee. There is nothing quite like a six foot six walking...well...tank in a Goofy shirt. Oh my God. I had tears running down my face.

"Laugh it up," Tank hissed as he kissed me on the forehead, "but the walls between your suite and mine are paper thin and I now understand completely Lester and Mitch's complaints about 'ohGodRicohGod'," he rolled his eyes. "It meant I had to do double duty this morning with Lula and now, I'm tired."

I laughed, "You'll be okay Big Guy," I patted his arm and hugged his neck. "Besides, you want to be a daddy, don't you?"

His expression softened, "yea, I do."

"All right then, this is how it's done."

"Right," he nodded, "it usually is."

I sensed some unease in his answer, but before I could dig further Cal came in.

As amusing as Tank was to view, Cal took the cake. Cal's character of choice was Donald Duck. His tattooed head and the Donald Duck tee shirt were about all I could take. I almost fell on the floor laughing. Even Ranger's lips first twitched then full on grinned.

"Whatever," Cal said taking his seat, "I'm digging the duck."

I wiped my eyes and sat up. The entire group came strolling in wearing Disney tee shirts of some kind. It was funny. I suppose I've gotten used to the black.

"If Stephanie can pull herself together we'll get this meeting under way," Ranger said seriously from the front of the room.

"Sorry," I said wiping my eyes and straightening my face with effort. "Go right ahead honey."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes, "the official cause of death for Sandy Rice is asphyxiation."

"Strangled," Kate nodded. "Were there any other signs of trauma?"

"No," he shook his head and reddened slightly.

"She'd had sex recently," I said with a smirk.

"Er…yea," he said and straightened.

"How do you know it was murder and not an accidental death due to Erotic Asphyxia," Jess said calmly.

I giggled. I couldn't help it.

"We don't," Ranger glared at me. "We've been given a DNA sample to run through CODIS. We need to find out from her friends and family who, if anyone, she was dating. The coroner says he can find no sign of sexual trauma, but that doesn't necessarily mean she wasn't raped. A lot of rape victims these days don't fight their attacker. They know they have a better chance of survival.

"Jess, why don't you and Mitch go meet with Jack Margolis at Cinderella's Castle," he nodded. "He's expecting you in about two hours. He's going to have a list of suspects and a list of Sandy's known associates. He's going to take you to their offices and show you how to access their personnel systems. Then you can come back here," he pointed to the corner where a couple of new computers had been set up, "and work your magic on the list."

She nodded.

"Manuel is going to have his hands full running the evidence. Is there anyone here who feels comfortable doing that with him other than Kate? Kate, I really need you to go and meet the coroner and get the details. He's also going to let you have a look at the body and his findings before Sandy's body is shipped to Trenton."

She nodded.

Connie put her hand up, "I can help him. I'm used to blood," she shrugged.

I winced. It was hard to imagine that Connie's _FAMILY_ connections would ever come in handy at Disney World. Will wonders never cease?

"Thank you Connie." He turned to Brian. "Brian, you're to head to the front of the Contemporary at the check-in desk. Karen is meeting you there and she's going to take you to their attorney's offices so you can get our paperwork in order. I also want you to find out whether we're breaking any state laws here. I mean they say they police themselves, but what is it really?"

Brian nodded, "I'm on it."

"We have quite a few rental cars in the underground parking garage. The keys are on the peg board," he waved his arm. "The sign out sheet is below. Please only take a car when you're leaving the property or you're going somewhere the Disney provided transportation doesn't go. We're laying low here people. Remember if you're in the park, act like a tourist." He turned to Natalie, Lula and Padma, "I need you to do some more retail."

"You're a god," Natalie sighed.

He laughed, "We don't have enough clothes yet. Take one of the bigger cars and head back to downtown. Get everyone's sizes before you go. Natalie use your room key card. We're laying in for a siege. If we don't need it, we'll take it with us. But we have to look like we're here on vacation. We need swim suits. The ladies need a couple of sundresses. Deck everyone out."

"We'll do it," Lula grinned.

"Woody and Gabe, head to her apartment," he tossed keys toward Woody. "Check the place out thoroughly. Treat it like a crime scene. See if you can find any connection there to anybody."

"Stephanie is going to call her parents so they'll be present when the Rice's are notified. Bobby and Lester are going there today to do that. After the Rices calm down, Stephanie will speak with them tomorrow to get any information that Bobby and Lester or Frank didn't get." He paused, "Tank, Cal and I are going to work on the organization of our job here. Let's do it."

We all dispersed to our assigned locals after stopping by to give Natalie our sizes. I went to the elevator and punched the button for the ninth floor and waited for the elevator to go up. When I got to the top I went to the balcony and dialed my mother's number.

"Hey Mom," I said when she answered.

"Hello dear, how is Disney World?"

"Warm and sunny," I said with a sigh.

"What's wrong," she frowned. "Are you and Ricardo fighting?"

"No Mom," I rushed to assure her, "we're great. He's great. I love and adore him. It's not us."

"Oh dear," she said and I heard the sound of the kitchen chair scraping the floor. "Someone is dead, aren't they?"

I sighed, "Is Daddy there?"

"Yes," she said. She pulled the phone away from her mouth, although I'd say it wasn't far enough and yelled, "Frank…Stephanie wants to talk to you. She's in Disney World. Somebody's dead."

I heard my father's voice returning her yell in the background. "Someone's dead? For God's sake Ellen, it's not Ricardo is it?"

"No, she says he's fine," she responded with another yell.

"Pumpkin," my father said seconds later taking the phone, "who died?"

"Sandy Rice," I winced.

"Sandy Rice," he said thoughtfully.

"Oh dear God! Jesus Mary and Joseph," my mother said.

"She's praying," I winced.

"Who is Sandy Rice," he sighed heavily.

"Lucille's daughter," I said softly.

"She doesn't know yet?"

"No," I bit my lip. "Do you suppose that you and Mom could go over to Lucille's with Bobby and Lester when they notify her?"

"Of course Pumpkin," he assured me. "And get any information we can?"

"Please Daddy. I'll need to speak with them later, but it might be easier now if you asked some questions. Although I've seen Lucille checking Lester out a couple of times and I have a feeling she'll give him any information she has if Dan's not around."

"I think Dan is on a long haul," my father said thoughtfully. Dan Rice was a truck driver and was on the road a lot. "We'll probably get more information out of Lucille without him there anyway."

"Thank you Daddy."

"What's the cause of death?"

"She was strangled."

"Er…was she into the kinky stuff," he said uncomfortably.

I swallowed back the bile. The kinky stuff didn't bother me. Discussing the kinky stuff with my Daddy bothered me. "We don't know yet. There is evidence of intercourse, but we're not sure yet how long between the sex and her death at this point. We're working on it."

"Okay Pumpkin, I'll call you back as soon as I know something. I'm sorry about your honeymoon."

"It's the way life goes Daddy…my life anyway."

"I know Pumpkin. I know."

I hung up the phone and sighed. There was no telling how long it would be before they got back to me. I had plenty of time to study my guide books and go over the information that Jack Margolis gave us. I drank a couple of bottles of water and ate a couple of chocolate croissants and watched a little Dr. Phil. It couldn't hurt. Mitch may need some more pointers.

I answered my phone really fast when it rang, "hello."

"Hello Pumpkin," he said. "Lucille actually took it very well."

"She did," I blinked.

"Yes," he said in surprise. His voice lowered, "They thought she was a lesbian."

"Er…she might be I suppose."

"Well, you said she'd had sex," he said thoughtfully.

"True, but we're not sure yet Daddy if…you know…"

"Well, we'll let her think she wasn't one of those," he said softly.

I sighed, "Okay. Can you tell me anything else?"

"She's had a couple of girlfriends since she's been down there, a couple of girls who worked in the entertainment side of things. One of them was Ariel and the other one was Aurora."

"Those are their stage names Daddy," I bit back a smile. "What are their real names?"

"Oh…er…Amanda Donnelley and Joanna White," he said after a moment.

"All right," I nodded. "You did good Daddy. Let me know if you hear anything else."

"I will honey. We love you. Give Ricardo our love too."

"We love you too Daddy," I said and hung up. I went back down to the conference room and sank down.

"You've heard something," Ranger asked just as his phone rang.

"Go ahead," I nodded. "It's either Lester or Bobby."

He nodded, "report." He listened for a long time. "Keep me informed." He hung up and turned to me, "they thought she was a lesbian?"

"Yea," I nodded, "but there's something hinky about that. It just doesn't feel right."

He laughed.

"Shut up," I shook my head with a grin. "I mean there's something wrong with them thinking she was a lesbian. I remember hearing that she was a bit of a slut in high school. She's about six years younger than me, but I'm pretty sure even Morelli dipped his wick in that one."

"Who didn't he dip it into," he shook his head.

I winced.

"Sorry Babe," he sighed.

"It's all right. Oh and Mom and Daddy send their love."

He smiled.

"Do we know anything new?"

He tilted his head toward Jess and Mitch in the corner. "They're running names. It's a decent list. We'll be doing leg work this afternoon talking to her co-workers and friends if we get enough Intel. Gabe and Woody are on their way back. They have some stuff for Manuel as well as her date book and her Cell Phone…a blackberry."

"It was at her apartment," I frowned as my tingle started.

"Yea," he studied my face.

"It doesn't make sense."

"No, but people forget their cell phones sometimes."

"I know," I sighed. "Do we know if there's anything in company policy that forbids them having their personal cell phones on the premises?"

"No, but Brian's on his way back," he said. "We can dig through their employee handbook when it gets here."

"Okay," I nodded. "What about lunch?"

He grinned. "Ali and Cal are bringing it."

"Thank God," I sighed. "Where are they bringing it from?"

"Somewhere at Downtown Disney called the Earl of Sandwich," he said with a frown. "They had to run down there to speak to one of her friends. As it happens it was one of the friends Lester just told me about."

"Aurora or Ariel," I raised a brow.

"Neither," he frowned in confusion, "Amanda Donnelley."

I grinned, "Aurora and Ariel are their character's names. They are Sleeping Beauty and the Little Mermaid."

"Huh," he blinked.

Jess rolled her eyes, "you don't get out much do you Boss? Ariel is the name of the Little Mermaid and Aurora is the name of Sleeping Beauty."

"Oh," he nodded.

"Once the bean is born, she'll learn all about Disney Princesses," I said with a smile.

"Oh you're having a girl," she grinned at me.

I said yes at the same time Ranger said no.

"Well, we don't know for sure," I smiled. "But Karma suggests it'll be a girl."

Mitch snorted.

Ranger turned to glare at him. "We don't know and we don't want to know."

"All I'm saying," Mitch said, "is that you should trust Steph's instincts."

"I do," he sighed.

"Then you know it's a girl. Start getting used to pink frilly things and Disney Princesses," Mitch laughed.

"I'm going to kill you someday," he said softly with a glare.

"You'd have to catch me first," Mitch laughed.

Jess shook her head and turned back to her computer.

"He has a point," I said with a smile.

"He still needs his ass beat."

"I guess you need to work on your Superman powers then honey," I said and walked over to put my arms around his waist and kissed him.

"Hey…we're working here," Mitch growled.

"We're on our honeymoon," I said leaning around Ranger, "get over it."

He seethed and turned back to his computer. I heard Jess giggle though.

Ranger grinned at me. "I love you."

"I love you Ric," I beamed up at him.

"A girl wouldn't be so bad," he said softly.

"Just remember she'll have Hungarian and Cuban hormones," I teased.

"Just remember she won't leave the house till she's forty," he said seriously.

I laughed.

"Hey, break it up," Cal grinned as he and Ali came in with food on a cart. "We've got lunch."

"Thank God," I groaned. "I'm starving."

We ate and talked and compared notes about things.

"Why don't you already work for me," Ranger asked Ali.

She laughed, "Well, I thought it would make Aunt Ellen have a nervous breakdown. When I got back all I ever heard was how she was so worried about Stephanie and her job and her associates. She was so worried that Stephanie is going to die a grisly death. I was concerned if I came to Rangeman and applied she'd go right over the top."

He laughed, "Things are a little different now."

"So I have learned. Uncle Frank is the one who told me to call your offices and see if there would be a problem with me applying."

"So you have a job?"

She laughed, "Hal hired me on Monday before we came down here. I'd been by to see him on Friday afternoon. He wanted to check my references and then check with Stephanie, but this particular job needed my expert talents," she rolled her eyes, "so here I am."

"Expert talents," he frowned.

"She's a girl," I grinned.

"Oh right," he nodded. "I forgot about our cover."

"That's because yours is built in," Ali said kindly. "And…you're kind of the boss."

"Yes I am. Actually, I understand everyone but Kate."

"What don't you understand about me," Kate said when she entered the conference room. "Oh thank God, I'm starving."

Brian came in right behind her, "me too."

"I understand now how everyone else was chosen for this particular job. How did you get roped in?"

"Oh easy," she grinned. "Bobby and I are friends. He said he needed to stay around there, but he'd really wanted someone else with a medical license to be here on site. He wanted to know how I felt about a free vacation."

I laughed, "How's that vacation working out for you?"

"I got some nifty new tee shirts," she beamed at the Castle tee shirt she was wearing that matched Brian's.

"Hey…you guys are dressed alike," I grinned.

"Yea, we're blending in by being one of those disgusting couples who dress alike. It was my idea."

Brian shook his head, "I'm afraid she's going to try and get me to die my hair next."

"No way Carter…it looks sexy as it is," she laughed.

"It's Brian," he said pointedly.

"Is it," she batted her eyes at him innocently before turning to me. She grinned. "I like to bust his chops."

We were gradually joined by every member of our long distance staff. We sat around the tables eating and avoiding the topic at hand. Finally everyone was finished. The last cookie was eaten. The trash was dealt with.

Ranger got to his feet, "okay, let's see what everyone found out. Let's start with Kate."

Kate nodded and got to her feet. "Sandra Millicent Rice was a healthy 26 year old woman."

"Millicent," I snorted and Ali grinned at me.

Kate shook her head and smiled, "Her organs were in good health, her last meal was lunch. She didn't eat at the park, instead she ate Mexican food. We're pretty sure it was a Taco Bell meal number one."

"Burrito and taco supreme," Woody mumbled.

Ranger just shook his head.

Kate grinned, "She was sexually active and had apparently had at least two miscarriages or abortions or one of each. She was currently on birth control. She was using the three month shot. Ovulation appeared to have been stopped. There was more trauma than first appeared on the body that appeared in post-mortem. We're delaying sending the body to New Jersey for a few more days since we're certain that more bruising will appear. Whoever did this knew enough about forensics to know that if the body went through a coroner with no experience, he'd never spot it. At this point, I'd almost say the sex was consensual. I could be wrong, but it certain appears that way. I would eliminate erotic asphyxia, but it was fun to watch the coroners face turn red when I suggested it as a possibility."

Natalie and I giggled and earned another frown from Ranger. It was his straighten up or I'll be talking to you later frown. I didn't mind. I liked it when he scolded me…a little bit.

Kate continued, "We…Manuel and I are going over to the coroner's office this afternoon to see if we can raise any prints off the body with superglue. The coroner had not washed her yet and I asked him to delay until we could run the check. At the very least, I suspect we'll get a print even though it may not be defined, it will give us a size of hand to go on." She took her seat with a nod to Ranger.

Ranger straightened from where he was leaning, "Brian…do you want to go next?"

"Sure," he got to his feet. "Walt Disney World does have its own police force. When they opened the park it was one of the things they asked for from Seminole and Orange Counties and got. They supply their own water, electricity, sewage, fire and police services. They are pretty much a city unto themselves. They're not really using the local resources, so it was even easier for the surrounding counties to acquiesce to their requests. They have their own laws adapted from the local municipalities and they govern themselves. Jack Margolis is effectively the chief of police and the sheriff. He is the top dog in law enforcement around here."

"So we are safe in getting the okay from them to investigate? We won't be in any kind of trouble?"

"No," Brian pulled a contract out of his leather notebook and handed it to Ranger. "I've already faxed copies of this to Tank and to the Miami office to be on the safe side. I have other copies as well. I'd like to overnight this one to Trenton for safe-keeping. It's not that I don't trust them, but I'd rather cover our asses completely."

"Do that then," Ranger nodded. "Go on."

"They have their own medical staff including a coroner who attends seminars and helps the local government when needed. He actually has very little experience. We, Rangeman, are not required to report these crimes or any other outside agency unless it's a federal crime. They gave us autonomy in solving the crime. The decision to report the crime to any other agency is ours. The mayor of Disney World, not Mickey Mouse," he shot a grin at me, "David Greene signed those papers in front of me. I drafted it myself and their attorneys looked on and agreed that it was fine. Because I haven't taken the bar yet in New Jersey or in Florida I thought we should go that route. I also had our attorney's in our Miami area office double check it."

Ranger nodded in admiration. "You've thought of everything."

"I did it this way to protect us," Brian said seriously as he sat. "Some small law enforcement agencies have the habit of protecting their own. It occurs to me that it could be a member of the security staff. That would give them further reason to protect themselves."

"Good point," Ranger nodded. "Gabe and Woody…what did you find?"

"It's been cleaned," Woody said with a sigh. I'd like Manuel to get over there and do his thing, but if there's evidence I didn't see it. She had no appointment book. No computer, no nothing…just this," he pushed the Blackberry across the table to Ranger. "And we might not have found it but it was behind the entertainment center. We're thorough."

"That's why the cleaner missed it," Gabe said with a nod. "We checked all the hard to get to places and moved the furniture. We found some condoms…used that we turned over to Manuel already. Hopefully it will match what was found on our vic. That will give us a better indication that she was in a relationship. The cell is locked."

Woody looked up, "it looked like a professional cleaning job."

"Its password protected," Gabe sighed. "I tried, but I can't get into it. It's going to take some work. If she's anything like me," he held up his phone, "everything is on that thing."

Ali held her hand out, "I'll do it. Now I'm here for my special skills."

Ranger grinned and slid it to her, "thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Jess and Mitch have been checking and cross checking. I think they've got a little more work to do before we have a defined list to check out. So…Kate and Manuel need to head back to the coroner's office. Manuel do you feel comfortable leaving Connie in the bus?"

"Yea," he nodded enthusiastically. "She's a quick study."

"Good," he nodded. "Connie will return to what she was doing. Everyone else, help the ladies distribute all their goods."

"It's a lot," Natalie muttered to Ranger as they headed for the elevator.

"I would think so," he agreed.

"Can we keep Steph," Mitch asked Ranger. "We could use help organizing our findings and she's a whiz."

"Of course," he nodded.

I smiled, "what do you want me to do?"

He shoved a pile of paper at me, "how about a spread sheet?"

"I can do it."

Hours later, I was sorry I volunteered.


	5. TTA22 05 Tank & Lula Talk

I borrowed Janet Evanovich's characters and someday I'll return them. They were bored, so I created some people for them to play with. I don't make anything off this.

Sorry I'm late getting this out. I was unwell yesterday and we had storms that took out cable, internet and the phones. We'll get it all back someday…right Charter?

* * *

At five o'clock Ranger called quitting time. He said that if we didn't blend in and play a little bit that other people were going to be suspicious of how we were spending our time here. So we all agreed to head to Downtown Disney and have dinner and hit Disney Quest. Disney Quest is their virtual theme park. You can build and ride your own virtual roller coaster, shoot virtual ghostly pirates and save your own virtual ship, go white water rafting (virtually of course) to avoid lava and certain death and all kinds of things. You can also eat…and that's not virtual food, but the real deal. That's never a bad thing. So we'd get to play at Disney World, but first we'd have dinner.

I put on one of the sundresses and Ranger put on shorts and a tropical button up shirt that felt like sin under my fingers. He looked good enough to eat. I almost forgot about dinner again. I would have forgotten to eat again, but my husband was hungry. What kind of crap is that. He also reminded me that by the miracle of our liaison Karen we'd been able to get a reservation at Fulton's Crabhouse for seven o'clock with Tank and Lula. I had to grudgingly accept that there was more to life than our sex life even if I was on my damn honeymoon.

We took the bus to Downtown Disney and were seated almost immediately. They ordered a bottle of wine and I got some water and we studied the menu.

"Oh damn, this is expensive," Lula blinked.

Ranger smiled, "this entire trip is free Lula. They're picking up our entire tab. Eat whatever you want."

"Oh damn," she blinked and studied the menu.

I folded my menu.

"You've decided already Steph," Tank grinned.

"Crab and Lobster Bisque, Cowboy steak with Rosemary demi glace, a baked potato and Milk Chocolate Crème Brule. Yea, I've decided," I grinned and leaned on my elbows on the table.

He chuckled and went back to his menu and reached around to touch my back. Ranger's hand caressed my back gently. Yea, this is how I always thought it should be between us. I always thought marriage should be this comfortable easy feeling with just a hum of sexual tension beneath the surface and occasional arguments. This was perfect. I turned to beam at him.

"What," he smiled.

"I love you," I smiled back.

"I love you too," he leaned over and kissed me.

"Man," Lula put her menu down and grinned at us, "I never thought I'd see the day. I remember oh so many moons ago when you'd get heart palpitations and flaming panties when he'd come into the room."

"I still do," I shrugged.

She laughed, "Okay…but back then, he was just a dream. Now he's…," she waved her arm dramatically, "he's your husband."

"I know," I grinned.

"Do you like being married," Tank asked.

"I love it," I smiled. "I mean we had a few hurdles to get over and it took some work, but we managed it. I love him even more now."

"What about you Ric?"

"Yea," he grinned and leaned back in his chair, "I had no idea what I was missing. It's the best part of my life. I'm happier than I've ever been. I can't imagine how much happier I'll be when the bean is a real person and not just a kidney bean on a piece of film."

Lula sighed, "I want a baby."

"I know you do honey," I reached for her hand across the table. "It will happen for you."

"No," she said sadly, "it won't."

"Sure it will," I said and frowned when Tank shook his head.

"Ramirez…he did some damage," she said softly and tears filled her eyes. "I won't ever be able to carry a baby."

"Oh honey," I whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," she said drying her eyes. "I have the eggs. I have a uterus even though it's scarred beyond all repair and I have the desire, but I'll never have a baby."

"You can adopt," I said softly.

"Who's going to let an ex ho adopt a baby," she said and wiped at more tears.

"Then you'll do a private adoption or a surrogate," I said seriously. "Don't give up Lula. You're going to be a great Mom someday. You have so much love in your heart."

"That's what I keep telling her," Tank said gruffly. "We'll figure something out. We just found out ourselves that we can't do it the old fashioned way. We just need to do it some other way."

"There's bound to be a way," I said softly. "Talk to Kate, maybe she can help you. She probably knows girls who can't keep their babies or even don't want them. Ric has strings; hell…Tank has strings he can pull. Don't give up."

"You really think I'll be a good Mom," she whispered.

"Absolutely," Ranger leaned over the table and put his hand on hers gently. "You'll be a great Mom. You won't judge your child too harshly. You'll give them room to grow and teach them right from wrong. You'll be the perfect Mom."

She put her head on the table and squalled.

"Thanks man," Tank said putting his arms around Lula.

"It's true. You'll be great parents," he said. "Something will work out. You'll see."

I relaxed back against my husband with a satisfied smile. I know I love him. I know all the reasons that I love him, but sometimes he makes it even better than I could have hoped. Sometimes he's beyond even my wildest dreams. And my dreams are pretty wild.

"So Tank," Ranger began after we'd ordered, "I've been thinking about our recent influx of cash from the George incident."

"Yea, I've been thinking about that too. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we need to diversify," he grinned at his friend.

"I was thinking that too," he nodded and grinned back at Ranger.

"I think that Mike's a great way to start."

"I know where you're going with this and I'm with you," Tank grinned. "If we become restaurateurs we'll pad our portfolio even more."

"Really," I beamed at them. "You're going to help Mike?"

"And he's going to help us. I think we should go into military towns first," Ranger said seriously. "We should take advantage of what we know."

"Oh hell yea," Tank nodded. "We should start with the big ones first and see how that goes. I think we should hit Norfolk and San Diego."

Ranger nodded, "it's a good idea."

"It's a great idea," he agreed.

Ranger and Tank grinned and shook hands and that was that. They were now in the restaurant business, assuming that Mike wanted their money. Granted, they'd be the money, but that was good enough for them.

"I just think that we've been thinking inside the box," Tank sighed. "You have Sizzlin. That's outside the box. It's doing great."

"It's doing amazing," Ranger agreed. "Women need panties."

"Amen to that," Lula said as the waitress put our appetizers down on the table.

I had the bisque. Ranger had the house salad. Tank had the crab cakes. Lula had the shrimp cocktail. For a few minutes we just ate and of course I moaned and Ranger shook his head.

"I just think we really need to diversify our business," Tank said seriously. "The more we diversify, the better we're cushioned for issues in the economy…issues like this one."

"I agree," Ranger nodded. "And it's a good time to buy companies too. That's why I thought Fenton would be a help to us. The man can smell a good idea a mile away. I told him we were interested in expanding, but I didn't think about diversifying as much until the opportunity with Mike came along. If you're with me on this, I say we send him out to find us new ventures."

"I'm totally with you man," Tank nodded. "And damn these crab cakes are good."

"So is my bisque," I moaned.

"Babe," Ranger raised a brow.

I grinned and gave him a taste.

"Moan away," he sighed. "It's pretty damn good."

"Darn good," I reminded him.

"Right…the bean…right," he nodded.

"You're not cursing around the fetus," Tank raised a brow. I could see he was fighting the urge to laugh.

"Right," I nodded. "We don't want to be a bad influence on our unborn child. The bean can hear us."

"See there, that's smart," Lula said nodding her head and tapping Tank on the arm. "They're thinking ahead. Their baby probably don't have ears yet and they're watching their language. But once it does have ears, they'll be good and practiced and they'll be watching their p's and q's and it won't even be a problem to avoid saying fuck."

"Thanks Lula," I smiled.

"And you know it's gonna take some time to clean up Stephanie's mouth. I ain't never heard no white girl with a mouth like that on her. She scared me and I don't scare easy. It's just wrong coming out of that mouth."

"Sometimes," Ranger grinned.

Lula blinked at him then burst out laughing and slapped at his hand, "Ooooh Ranger, you like some dirty talk in the boudoir. I knew it!"

He just laughed at Tank's aghast expression.

I watched the two men communicate silently as they both chuckled and sighed. "So…how did you two meet anyway," I asked pushing my soup bowl aside.

"We met at boot camp," Ranger grinned. "I was a bossy street guy and Tank was this big guy who'd been watching himself forever."

"All I heard growing up is 'Pierre, you're the biggest boy out there, you need to be careful with the other boys'," he rolled his eyes. "I got to boot camp and all I could hear was my mamma's voice in my ear, 'Pierre Jean Luc Thibodeaux…don't you hurt that boy. His mamma isn't gonna like that.'"

Ranger laughed, "So…he wasn't doing so great."

"I sucked," Tank admitted.

"So I asked him why he was like that," Ranger grinned.

"And I told him," Tank sighed.

"And then I told him…"

"He told me 'son, your mamma ain't here. What she don't know won't hurt you. If you don't get your ass in gear…you're gonna be in deep shit'," Tank shrugged.

"So what did you do," Lula leaned forward with big eyes.

"I got my ass in gear," he laughed.

"Once he realized he was supposed to inflict damage, he was fine," Ranger smiled. "He forgot he was in the Army I guess."

"I guess," Tank nodded.

"Anyway, after that we were friends. Everybody thought I was a punk…and I was. They thought he was a pansy, and then they were terrified of him. So we just ended up on our own little team. Then they processed us into Ranger school and everybody was like us. But we still stuck together, we just added friends to our group."

"Good friends," Tank nodded.

"Brothers," Ranger agreed and the men bumped knuckles.

"I think it's cool," I admitted. "I mean I have Mary Lou and you know I've known her forever, but I don't hang out with that many of my old friends. I don't even hang out that much with Mary Lou anymore. She has her own life and I have mine and when I didn't become burg…I guess we just drifted apart. These days…my friends are all of you guys. But sometimes I wish I had connections that lasted that long that were good."

"Me too," Lula admitted. "Not many of my girls are still alive," she shook her head sadly, "if a john didn't get em…drugs, AIDS or their old man did."

I sighed, "thank God we have each other."

"Amen," she said and we high fived.

A couple with young children walked by our table and Lula sighed. The little boy, of about four, was skipping and holding his daddy's hand. The mother was carrying a two year old girl and had a baby bump as well. Lula gazed at them so wistfully. It almost broke my heart. She'd tried and tried to get pregnant and here I was pregnant with no effort. Well, there was effort…there was good effort, but I mean to say that Ranger's super sperm got me pregnant over birth control that had worked for me forever.

I reached for her hand. "Does it bother you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Seeing the families," I sighed. "And having friends that are pregnant?"

"I get sad," she shrugged.

"I saw that. Are you okay with being around me? Would you rather kind of stay away for a while?"

"Oh heck no," she winked. "I'm gonna love being Auntie Lula until we get something worked out. Besides, me and Tank haven't been married that long. We probably need a little more alone time lovin first. You know just till we get the vocals down a little bit."

"You're probably right," Tank nodded solemnly.

I laughed, "Well, you never know when your circumstances are going to change Lula. You probably need to go on and make some changes yourself."

"You're probably right girl," she groaned. "There's no telling. You know miracles happen all the time."

"Yes they do," I nodded.

"Tank," she said with narrowed eyes.

"I'm on it," he said enthusiastically, "I'll watch my language."

"See that you do," she said seriously.

He nodded.

I have to say, I don't think Tank curses that much to start with. I mean he doesn't do it much around me. If she thinks he needs to watch his mouth, maybe he's different at home. I have a feeling that it's probably more of a sexual thing. But I could be wrong.

The waitress deposited our dinner in front of us. I'd chosen the Cowboy Steak with Rosemary demi glace and a baked potato. I figured it had protein and probably some iron. Kate said I needed to eat that stuff, so I was determined to do my part. Ranger order Lobster and crab with steamed in season vegetables. Lula had the Fulton's Crabhouse Seafood Trio. It included season swordfish, grilled shrimp, lump crab cake with basil cream and Yukon gold whipped potatoes. It was a lot of food. I was wondering how she was going to finish it. I needn't have worried. Tank had the Cowboy steak too, but he added a lobster to his. He's a growing boy. He needs to keep his energy up. He's married to Lula.

For a while there were no sounds but chewing, shells breaking, forks on plates and groaning and moaning. Most of the moaning and groaning was coming from me and Lula. We were fine with that. I knew we were attracting stares from the other diners, but I was used to that. Quite frankly, I didn't care.

When she took our plates away, I will admit it…I thought about passing on dessert. I was pretty full. Then I reminded myself that I was eating for two. So I convinced everyone else to order dessert to keep me from feeling bad. So I had my Crème Brule and Ranger had key lime pie. Lula had a Classic Tollhouse Cookie Sundae and Tank had the Banana Cream Pie.

When we left the restaurant to walk to Disney Quest, I have to tell you…I was considering begging Ranger to give me a piggy back ride. I was so full I thought I'd burst. But…I was a big girl and we walked from the edge of the Market Place over the bridge and to the West Side of Downtown Disney. We gaped along the way. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree. Then we stopped and looked up at the five story building that housed Disney Quest.

"What time do they close," Tank frowned.

"Midnight," I swallowed.

"We don't have enough time," Lula sighed.

"Then we need to stop wasting our time," Ranger grabbed my hand and headed for the door.


	6. TTA22 06 Team at Disney Quest

Janet owns em. I use em. She makes oodles of cash. I make no cash.

* * *

The rest of our team was basically waiting just inside in a little shop. We all herded onto the elevator and selected a floor at random. When we got off, we found we were in a good place. We all boarded the **_Pirates of the Caribbean, Battle for the Buccaneer Gold_**attraction. We made Padma the captain and the rest of us manned guns or cannons. We were determined to win. We went over the waterfall and chased the pirate ships and captured them and got their gold. We were victorious. I think it helped that we're all excellent marksmen. We may have had a little advantage on that one.

After that we did the virtual jungle cruise. We could only do eight people at a time in two separate boats. Ranger, me, Tank and Lula were in one boat. Gabe, Padma, Natalie and Cal were in the other boat. I have to say, I'm surprised we survived. Lula was definitely not helpful in our quest. We almost got sucked down the lava whirlpool twice because she was too busy screaming like a little girl to paddle. And another time we almost got eaten by dinosaurs. Okay, we almost got eaten by dinosaurs a lot too, this was also because Lula was screaming like a little girl and not paddling. I have to say if I ever do end up in some prehistoric jungle on a rubber raft that may go over a cliff or down a swirling lava eddy, I hope Lula's not in my raft or I'll just have to push her out. She wasn't helpful in our quest. She was a hinderance. We kept telling her the lava wasn't real. Tank even told her if the lava was real that the boat would have melted and we'd all be toast. But she kept on screaming. I thought I was going to have to slap her. Anyway, she goes overboard in that 'real-life' situation or I get to bend over and kiss my ass goodbye. You can imagine which I'd pick.

We split up for a little while after that as everyone found different single player games to play. I found a comfortable place to sit. I was content. I had a full belly and I was with friends. Life was good. Lula dropped beside me with a sigh.

I patted her leg, "You're a big chicken."

"That there was the gateway to hell," she panted and fanned herself. "Lula don't do the gateway to hell."

"It wasn't real," I rolled my eyes.

"So you say, but you don't know for sure. All of our teams survived. If a team don't survive they may get sucked into hell. It's a chance I'm not willing to take."

"Well, for the record, if you don't want to get sucked down into the gateway to hell in the future, I suggest a little less screaming and a little more rowing."

"Huhn," she said thoughtfully. She stared at the blank wall in front of us for a few minutes, "you know...I'm just a wreck. I'm hormonal and emotional. I'm worse when I'm home."

"Should I feel sorry for Tank?"

"I'm pretty sure you should. He probably regrets marrying me."

"I doubt that very seriously. He loves you. He never even considered getting married before you. This is just a small obstacle in your path to eternal happiness."

"I know."

"I'm really sorry Lula. You know if there's anything I can do to help you or to make it easier for you, you know all you have to do is ask. I'll do it."

"You just keep being yourself and keep believing in us…me and Tank I mean," she said putting her arms around me and hugging me to her. "You have no idea how much it means to us. You're good friends."

"I try to be a good friend."

"I know you do. Listen…can I talk to you about something while we've got a few minutes alone here?"

"Sure," I nodded.

"When I found out that you and Ranger got married I have to admit I was a little…"

"Pissed," I smiled.

She grimaced, "yea…I was pissed."

"I don't blame you," I said seriously. "That was your time it should have been all about you and not about us. It was bad enough that you had to endure four murders and get stuck in your cabin…"

"Oh girl, that weren't nothing but a thing," she grinned. "I didn't care about that. I mean I worried a little bit when Tank was a suspect, but I knew you'd fix it. You always fix it. That didn't bother me that much."

"Then…"

"It's just…I would have wanted to be there," she sighed. "You're my girl."

I sighed, "I know Lula. I told Ranger that it wasn't fair that it happened the way it did. We didn't have our families there. That wasn't fair to you guys or to us…not to me anyway. I know Papa and Mama Manoso would have wanted to be there. I sure as hell know my Daddy wanted to be there and I finally understand that my Mom would have wanted to be there as well. He cheated us all. He had some issues."

"You should renew your vows in a ceremony for everyone and let us all be there. You can make it as little burg or as much burg as you want to. You can plan it all and have it be a surprise, or you can turn the planning over to other people who care about you. But you should do it. You should give your family and Ranger's family that closure."

"It's a good idea. I'll talk to Ric about it," I nodded.

"And I know Tank tole you that I'm turnin all Gloria Vanderbilt and shit, but it's just… I ain't never been respectable Stephanie."

I sighed and took her hand in mine, "you've always been respectable Lula. You did what you had to do and what you knew to do. It was all you knew. It was what you thought you were supposed to do. You did it for as long as you thought it was right and when you realized that it wasn't right, you got out without so much as a backwards glance. Once you were out you've steadily improved yourself in every way and now you're friggin famous. I was surprised you get off to come to this thing."

"I had some time coming. They had to fulfill the contract of the lady I took over for so it was a good opportunity for them to fulfill that so…"

"I'm glad you could come. We haven't had any time to really get together since people are always shooting at me or someone around me."

"Yea…girl what is that all about?"

"Okay, you know that Diesel is…"

"Fine," she shook her head back and forth and bit her lip with a low moan, "if I didn't have Tank I'd have to get me some of that."

I laughed, "Yea…well he's also magic."

"You mean coz he tracks all them crazy ass people that can do crazy ass things like start fires when they fart and shit," she asked.

"Yea, like that," I nodded.

"So what's that got to do with you? Shit Stephanie, you don't fart fire too, do you?"

"Oh God no," I shook my head vigorously. "I draw them to me, the crazy people who can do shit like that I mean. Oh and just the crazy people in general I guess. It's some weird thing. You know how I always say I'm a shit magnet?"

"Yea," she nodded.

"Turns out…I really am," I laughed.

"No shit," she nodded, "now that makes some sense."

"I can also tell whether someone is good or bad," I said seriously.

"And what does your spidey sense say about me," she said apprehensively.

"The same thing it's always said Lula. You're good people."

She hugged me again, "awww damn, you done made me go and cry."

I smiled, "you worry too much Lula. Those of us who love you, we love you for who you really are and not for who you think you ought to be."

"Thank you," she sniffed and blew her nose. "And you really think I'll be a good mom?"

"I think you'll be a great mom," I said seriously. I put my hand on hers again, "Lula, this will work out."

Natalie dropped on Lula's other side. "You told her," she whispered to her.

Lula nodded.

"I'm not made of glass you guys. You can tell me anything," I said seriously. "Besides how can help you if I don't know what's wrong?"

"I don't know," she said softly.

"You have to trust me Lula. I trust you."

"I know you do. I also know that you've gone out of your way to keep from hurting me. You're a good friend."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Now…enough of this sad sack stuff," Natalie grinned. "We're at freaking Disney World. Let's have some fun."

"That sounds like a plan."

Do you know what's annoying about being pregnant? You get tired so damn easy. I hate that. I want to be able to stay up all night and play with the other kids just like I used to. Oh hell, who am I kidding? I am a sleeper. I like to sleep. The ONLY thing that keeps me awake is my husband.

We played around a little while longer. We rode the _**Comix**_. Then we played around with _**Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters**_.

After a while Brian nudged Ranger, "I think your wife is ready to call it a night bud."

Ranger turned and laughed, "Do you think? Is she asleep right now?"

"She is not," I replied not bothering to open my eyes from where I was leaning against the wall sitting in a very comfortable chair.

"All right then," he said and hauled me up, "come on Babe, let's put you to bed. This vacation may be a little bit more excitement than you can handle."

"Hey," I complained as he urged me toward the elevator. "I can handle the vacation. It's the murder that's bothering me."

"Of course, right," he agreed and rolled his eyes.

"It's your huge progeny growing in my womb that's wearing me out," I glared up at him. "You got me all knocked up and then took me to Disney World knowing I'd be too damn tired to stay up and enjoy it all. I can't even ride all the rides. Most of the good ones have pregnancy warnings. What kind of shit is that?"

"Babe," he sighed. "I'll bring you back after the baby is born."

"You're going to leave our baby back in the suck zone," I looked up at him aghast.

"Ixnay Ranger, Ixnay," Gabe whispered loudly.

"What," Ranger raised a brow at him.

"Regnancypay ormoneshay," Gabe winked.

"Oh for God's sake," I growled.

"I still don't get it," Ranger sighed.

"He said to shut up if you know what's good for you," Brian said helpfully. "Apparently Stephanie is having some pregnancy hormone issues and nothing you say is going to appease her."

I sniffed as fat tears rolled down my face, "I don't have pregnancy hormones." The end of it was pretty much indiscernible over my tears.

"Of course you don't honey," Lula wrapped her arms around me and glared at the men. "If you make her cry again I'll beat all you asses," she hissed.

"Thanks," I sniffed.

"Honey…if they had to have a kidney bean the size of Ranger's offspring invade their bodies and take over they'd have problems too," Lula said soothingly. "You can't let it get to you. Men don't understand."

I sniffed again.

"Er…Babe…Stephanie…do you want to go back to our resort and go to bed?"

I nodded.

"Can I go too," he said anxiously.

I nodded again.

"Okay," he pulled me out of Lula's arms and we got on the elevator to go down. "I'm sorry. I'll read the rest of the books when we get back."

"Okay," I sighed.

The truly amazing thing about pregnancy hormones is that the direction they're going can change at a moment's notice. One minute I'm all weepy because I can't ride Expedition Everest and the next moment I'm looking at my husband like he's dessert. And you all know how I feel about dessert.

I stepped into the shower to wash the days sweat off of me and to relax. Being upset makes me tense so I can't go right to sleep. I'm in there and then my husband's in there with me and… Have I mentioned to you how incredibly gorgeous my husband is? I mean he's hot. He's even hotter naked. Oh my God! I turned to look at him and he was standing with his face in direct connection with the water and his eyes were closed. I went from weepy to horny in about 2 seconds. That's an exaggeration. It was a lot less time than that.

I slid my hands along his ass and around to his manhood. He was still soft. Evidently he wasn't expecting anything tonight. I grinned up at his surprised face and moved around and took him into my mouth.

"Er…Babe, I thought you were tired," he bit his lip and groaned.

"I was," I licked the head and pulled him back into my mouth.

"But…"

"But you're tasty," I grinned up at him and focused on pleasing him.

"She's gonna kill me," he groaned as he hardened in my mouth.

"You'll love every second of it," I said licking him again.

He didn't let me finish. Instead he picked me up against the wall of the shower and slid into me with a groan. "I love you."

"I love you," I bit the spot where his neck and shoulder met.

He moaned again and began to drive into me. I just hung on for dear life. I had to, the moment he slammed into me I was cumming.

Hours later we were in the bed naked and sated just gazing at each other in the darkened room. Then out of the blue, he comes up with a question that made me blink.

"Have you been thinking about names?"

"I have thought about it," I said thoughtfully with narrowed eyes, "but more what I don't want than what I do want. I don't want a family name."

"So no more Ricardo Carlos Manosos in our family tree," he asked.

"Aren't two enough," I smiled.

"I think I told you once that one Ranger is all you'd ever need."

"You couldn't be more right about that," I said with a soft smile.

He tugged me tight against his body, "will you still love me when I don't have a six pack? I mean when I'm old and wrinkly and the male version of your grandmother?"

I giggled trying to picture him in my head. "The bigger question is will you love me when I'm exactly like my grandmother?"

"Babe," he groaned.

I laughed, "Scary isn't it?"

"Terrifying," he groaned.

"Yep you're going to have to have sex with me well into our dotage."

"Oh darn," he rolled me to my back and kissed me slowly running his tongue over my lips softly. "How far into our dotage will that be going on?"

"Well…we got a late start on marriage. So, I'd say we need to stay sexually active till we're around 99."

"Do we have to stop then," he raised a brow and nibbled along my jaw.

"No, we don't," I sighed. "We never have to stop."

"We'll stop the day I stop loving you."

"When will that be," I asked.

"Never," he whispered and kissed me again.


	7. TTA22 07 Cinderella's Friends

Janet Evanovich, creator of Stephanie Plum and company, owns her characters and makes oodles of cash using them for her own purposes. I, creator of Mitch and co, own my own characters and allow them to play with her characters and make diddly squat. Just so we're clear!

* * *

I groaned and stretched and wiggled my butt under Ranger's hand. For some reason he's taken to sleeping with his hand on my butt if I'm not right up under him or on top of him. I guess he chooses to stay close to me in whatever way he can. Since I've been pregnant I sleep pretty restlessly. I don't know if I'm dreaming about all the things that could go wrong of if I'm suddenly very aware when I'm trying to go to sleep what position the bean is in. For instance, I never sleep on my stomach except when I'm already way out. Sometimes I wake up like that, but I never go to sleep like that. He's also got his hand on my ass because now that we're happily married…we both sleep naked. I suppose it's so he can reach over and try to talk me into another round at any time. He doesn't have to try hard.

His hand tightened before opening and lightly cupping a butt cheek, "hmmm."

I grinned. That was his morning wood groan. I've come to recognize it pretty well. I wriggled closer to him and nestled into his arms and up against that morning wood and he sighed.

"I don't know why you fought getting married for so long," he whispered scattering kisses along my shoulder and neck, "this marriage thing is good stuff."

I shook my head with a smile, "really '_Mr. I don't do_ _Relationships_', I'm the one who had a problem?"

He grinned and rolled me to my back and bit my nipple lightly. "I was a bit slow on the uptake as well."

"Really, you don't say," I sighed as his mouth slid over my skin. You'd think you'd get bored with being aroused and satisfied all the time, but oddly…it never gets old. Who knew?

Anyway, to make a long story short, we were late to the morning meeting…again. I think I need to start setting the alarm clock earlier or sleeping in another room. Nah…I'll set the alarm earlier, there's no way I'm missing morning wood. Anyway, we walked in and a cheer went up in the room. I rolled my eyes and took a seat as Ranger shook his head and grabbed his clipboard.

"All right you bunch of idiots," he growled. "We're two minutes late and we're on our freaking honeymoon…cut us some slack."

There were a lot of poor baby comments after that. Ranger just raised his brow till it was over.

"Okay, everyone has a task already assigned today. Stephanie and I are going to see Aurora," he raised a brow at me.

"Joanna White," I supplied.

"Right, Joanna White," he nodded. "Does everyone know their task?" He looked around the room. "Then let's do it and we'll meet back here at 1600 hours."

I got to my feet and grabbed my backpack.

"What's in that thing," Mitch asked as he thumped my backpack when he started to pass by me.

"My supplies," I shrugged. "Look, if I'm walking around at Disney World with a clipboard it's going to look suspicious, but if I have on a backpack…that's normal."

"Especially one that says _**Walt Disney World 2009**_," Ali grinned. "Good idea."

"I'll grab some for everyone," I suggested.

"Good idea Babe," Ranger said kissing my head. "Come on her shift starts at nine. We need to get over there by 8."

"Are you going to feed me breakfast," I sighed.

"I promise I'll feed you," he shook his head as we headed for the monorail. We weren't the only ones from our team on the monorail. Cal and Natalie were there as well as Kate and Brian. Kate was going to the crime scene and everyone else was tagging along to check it out as well and to do a more thorough search in the daylight. Ranger and I didn't mind that they were checking our work. We appreciated it. Hell, we'd been on our honeymoon when it went down.

"Are you guys going to grab breakfast in the park," Kate asked.

"He promised to feed me," I said seriously. "There aren't that many places to get breakfast though. There's the bakery on Main Street."

"Is that it," she frowned.

"Pretty much except for sit down places with Character Meals," I nodded. "You can probably grab a coffee and a sweet roll somewhere though."

She sighed, "The bakery it is."

"Kate…I'm really starting to think we have some things in common," I grinned at her.

"I like my food," she laughed.

"Amen sister," I said and our palms met in a high five.

We all got in line at the bakery and got some breakfast before separating. They headed for Tomorrowland and we headed for the castle to meet Aurora…er Joanna. It was really hard to separate the characters from the girls. I was hoping that a little one on one time with Joanna would help me out.

As agreed she was waiting in the middle of the large mosaic hallway of the castle. "Is there any place quiet we can talk," I asked after our introductions.

"Follow me," she said. She lead us toward Mickey's Toon Town and then down a long winding path that was almost completely empty. "Nobody ever uses this path. It connects Mickey's Toon Town to Tomorrowland. Most people go through Fantasyland."

"It's very peaceful," I sighed.

"Joanna, I understand that Sandy was a good friend of yours?" Ranger leaned against the light pole by the bench casually.

"Oh yea," she sighed and stared off into space. "Sandy, Amanda and I were hired at about the same time. We went through orientation and training together. We're the same age and we just hit it off. We're even all from the north which makes it even easier. We got each other. I'm from Brooklyn, Amanda is from Boston and Sandy was from Trenton. We got down here and we ended up getting an apartment together at first."

"What happened?"

"Oh you know, boys and stuff," she rolled her eyes. "Amanda started dating this banker and she moved in with him. Then I met Brady…my ex, he works for one of the hotels. Sandy didn't settle down, she dated a bunch of different guys. In the end we all kind of moved out and Sandy moved into a smaller place. We still see each other, we're friends. We're just not attached at the hip anymore even though both Amanda and I eventually broke up with our boyfriends."

"So she dated a lot of different guys," I nodded. "Where did she meet them?"

"Well…mostly here," she sighed. "Our hours are really weird, you know? It's hard to meet guys that aren't part of the whole thing. I mean you can work an hour here and then a couple of hours there. We're here in eight hour shifts, but a lot of that time is spent rehearsing or something rather than actually being with the guests. So we just hung out together and kind of with other people who are here too. We don't get out to places to meet other people as much as we'd like and we don't spend a lot of time online or anything."

"Have the three of you been princesses all along," Ranger asked.

"Yea," she laughed. "We are and have been. We used to joke that they were just casting us in our rightful places. The thing is everyone knows Cinderella because of the hair, you know? And what's not to know about Ariel, she's a mermaid. Everybody knows her. But not everyone knows who Aurora is."

Ranger grimaced.

I rolled my eyes, "she's Sleeping Beauty."

She grinned at me, "You know your princesses."

"Yea," I laughed. "I'm a little obsessed with Disney."

Ranger regarded me with a contemplative look.

"So," I straightened, "when is the last time you talked to Sandy?"

"Three or four days ago, the day before she was murdered," she said seriously. "All three of us met at Downtown Disney and had lunch together at McDonalds and just talked and caught up. We had a rule that we'd have lunch together at least once a month," she sighed and wiped away a stray tear. "Sandy was…she was like the glue that held us together. You know what I mean? She's that person who knows that relationships take work…all of them and she's willing to do her part and she's willing to crack the whip on everyone else so they'll do theirs. She's great. She was great," she sighed and gazed off into space again.

"Did she mention that she was having problems with anyone?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "I mean, there are always guys trying to get into her pants…you know what I mean? But nobody that was being forceful about it or anything," she shrugged. "She was sort of used to it. She had this way of telling a guy he was just so sweet as she blew him off. As far as I know she wasn't having any problems."

"Did she have a boyfriend now?"

"No," she shook her head.

"How about a friend with privileges," I smiled.

She laughed, "She used to. His name was Jake Freeman. He worked here too. He's Prince Charming," she rolled her eyes. "He was a bit of an ass, but according to Sandy he was good in the sack."

"But that's all they did…screw," I raised a brow.

"As far as I know," she nodded. "She didn't mention that he was more than that. I think Amanda even gave him a tumble."

"You didn't," I raised a brow.

"No," she shook her head grimly, "like I said…he's an ass."

"So as far as you know there's nobody who'd want her dead," Ranger asked.

"As far as I know there's nobody who'd ever wish her ill," she said seriously. "I'm telling you, Sandy was a sweet heart. She's gorgeous. She's sweet. She's funny. She's the perfect girl. She was a great friend," her voice changed as a sob clutched the back of her throat.

I reached over and rubbed her back gently as some people walked past us laughing.

"Nobody could want her dead," she finally whispered. "She was a good person. A person who would kill her has to be a monster."

"Okay," I said softly.

"I have to go get ready. I'm supposed to be on stage in an hour."

"Of course," I handed her a card. "If you think of anything else, please call us. We want to find this person and stop them."

She nodded. "I will. Thank you for helping her." She got up and hurried away.

I watched her go as Ranger sat back on the bench.

"What do you think Babe?"

"I think she's hiding something," I said quietly.

"Like what," he frowned.

"I don't know," I sighed. "But she's hiding something. She knows something. She could be scared."

"You don't think she did it, do you?"

"No," I shook my head. "I don't. But she's afraid of something or someone. She wasn't having consensual sex with her. That was a man."

"We have no guarantee at this point that it was consensual," Ranger reminded me.

"No we don't," I agreed.

"I do like it here, it's very peaceful," he sighed.

"Yea it is," I agreed. "We need to remember this spot. What time are we meeting Amanda?"

"We're meeting her in about four hours. We can go work or we can ride some rides," he suggested.

I laughed, "We have to buy fourteen backpacks."

He shook his head, "can you see Tank or Cal wearing one of those?"

"No, but I couldn't see them in Goofy or Donald Duck Tee Shirts either and now I have," I grinned at him.

"You have a point," he got to his feet and pulled me up. "Then let's go shopping."

We bought fourteen backpacks and took the time to make sure they were as different as we possibly could. We didn't want them to be too much alike or it would look suspicious. We took them back to our 'command central' and left them with Lula and Jess who were cataloging materials found in the vicinity of the murder. Once they cataloged them they'd take them to Manuel and Connie for analysis. After dropping them off and getting a quick status report we headed back to the park. We still had a couple of hours before we were supposed to meet with Amanda.

"I'm getting hungry," I sighed.

"Me too," Kate said with a grin in my ear.

"Geez, you scared me," I groaned.

She laughed, "We're on the wait list for the Plaza restaurant. Do you want us to add you to our party?"

"If it won't make your wait too much longer," I nodded.

"I'll find out," Cal said and went to the podium.

A few minutes later we were being seated. They said it didn't matter they would have gotten that table anyway. The menu was one page and mostly sandwiches with one salad.

Guess what Ranger ordered? You got it. He ordered the Chicken Strawberry Salad and water. I ordered the plaza club and a chocolate shake. Cal went with the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger and a strawberry shake. Natalie ordered a Tuna Salad sandwich and tea. Kate got a turkey sandwich and a chocolate shake. Brian finished it off with a cheese steak sandwich and a strawberry shake.

"How did you interview go," Brian asked quietly to Ranger who was sitting on his left. It was easy to do. The restaurant was crowded and everyone was busy with their own vacation.

"Good," Ranger nodded. "Steph thinks she's keeping secrets."

"Honey all women keep secrets," Kate said with a smile.

"Yea…but secrets about Sandy," I said softly. "She seemed nervous…or scared."

"Oh," she frowned, "now that I don't like."

"Me either," Ranger nodded. "What about you guys? Did you find anything we missed?"

"No…we just expanded the search," Cal said seriously. "She had to get in there some way. We know it's pretty much a ruined crime scene. We looked for things that didn't belong."

"Good plan," Ranger nodded.

"Do you still think its inside," Natalie whispered.

"I'm even surer of it," I nodded.

"That sucks," Cal sighed. "This is the happiest place on earth."

"Yea," Brian sighed with him. "I've been thinking about it and after doing the research, I have some ideas."

"Go on," Ranger said.

"Not here," he said glancing around.

"The walls have ears," Ranger nodded with a small smile.

"Yea," he agreed.

"Morning meeting, or sooner," he asked.

"The morning meeting is fine. We need to finish the cursory work first," he said seriously.

"What are you guys doing next?"

"We're going back to command and helping with the cataloging and pray that Manuel doesn't string us up for bringing him all this crap," Cal sighed.

"Brian, why don't you and Kate go and see what you can find out about one Jake Freeman," Ranger said quietly. "He's prince charming here."

"Not at this table," Natalie raised a brow.

Ranger burst out laughing. "Sorry…I didn't expect that."

She winked at him, "keeping you on your toes Ricardo."

He laughed again, "Anyway…according to Joanna, Sandy and Jake were friends with privileges."

"But Joanna thinks he's an ass," I reminded him.

"That she does," Ranger agreed. "Anyway, see if you can find him. If you do, try and talk to him or set up a time to talk."

"Sounds good," Brian nodded. "My old FBI skills will come in handy."

"What other skills do you have," Kate batted her eyes at him.

A flush went up Brian's face and Ranger laughed again.

"I swear I don't think I've heard you laugh this much in an eternity," Cal shook his head.

"Life is different," Ranger leaned over to kiss my head. "Life is much, much different."

After lunch we made plans to meet with Cal and Natalie later for dinner and headed off to meet Amanda at the castle. We took her back to our spot to talk to her after introducing ourselves to her.

She was immediately more nervous than Joanna had been at any time during our conversation.

"Just relax," I said with a gentle smile, "as long as you didn't kill her you're fine."

She blinked owlishly and her green eyes sparkled with tears, "I'd never hurt her. I adored her." She sniffed.

Ranger and I waited patiently for her to get herself together.

"There are a lot of alternate relationships here and a lot of princesses have been part of it. Because we all hung out together people used to say that we were a love triangle," she took a deep shaky breath. "Joanna and Sandy are straight. I'm bisexual. But I'd never do anything to either of them. When I say I love them, it's like they're my sisters…my family…you know? I wouldn't degrade them with anything sexual."

"Can you think of anyone who had anything against Sandy?"

"No," she whispered. "I've had nothing but her murder on my mind since I found out about it. Sandy's kind of straight up, you know? She didn't have boyfriends. She didn't sleep around. She had a sexual thing with Jake, but it was because she had itches and he was persistent. She said she'd never be in a relationship with him, but he was always good for four or five orgasms." She sighed, "He was good for at least that many."

"That's not a bad guy to have around," I grinned.

She chuckled, "no…he was good in bed. He didn't talk about screwing you with his friends either. He's an ass in other ways though. There was no pillow talk, just sex. He only agreed to sleep with me because Sandy asked him to." She shook her head. "I don't think he was that into me. He was very reluctant. I think we slept together two or three times."

"How did he feel about Sandy?"

"They were friends," she shrugged. "I mean he didn't just screw her like he did me. They talked and hung out. He always left when I came around and as far as I know he never slept with Jo or anything."

"Do you think he had feelings for her?"

"Maybe," she frowned thoughtfully, "I don't know. He's hard to read, you know?"

"Can you think of anyone who'd want to hurt her?"

"Nobody," she sighed.

"What did she do when she wasn't working," Ranger asked.

"She hung out here mostly," she dimpled up at us. "Sandy's here because she loves Disney. She loves being here. She just sits and watches the people especially at the front because she says their first look is the most priceless. She took pictures for people. She was a nice girl." She sighed, "I really hope you catch whoever did this to her."

Ranger handed her his card, "if you think of anything else, give us a call."

"Okay," she nodded and pocketed the card.

"Where do you think we'll find Jake?"

"He's on the schedule today. He's working."

"Some of our colleagues are going to try to talk to him, if they don't get him, can you ask him to give us a call?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"Thanks," Ranger smiled.

"You're welcome," she got to her feet. She took a step and paused and turned back to us, "when you find him…make sure he pays."

Ranger gave her a slight nod and she turned and walked away. He watched till she was out of sight before turning to me, "Babe?"

"She's hiding something too. I'd love to talk to this Jake."

"Yea…let's head back and see if Brian and Kate had any luck with that. If that doesn't work, we'll talk to Jack."

"Sounds good," I nodded and let him pull me to my feet.

"We need to head back anyway. If we walk we'll get back just in time for our meeting."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

As we walked I thought about our conversation with the girls. They were hiding something from us. I just hoped it wasn't something that could get them killed.


	8. TTA22 08 Natalie & Cal at Le Cellier

I don't. She does. I'm not. She is. It's all good.

* * *

As we got ready for dinner that night we kicked around ideas. Our afternoon meeting had done little to shed any light on the situation. Brian and Kate had no luck finding and talking to Jake. Ranger put in a call to Jack Margolis and he said he'd set us up with something the next day.

In the end though, we really weren't any better off than we had been when we started talking. It would be nice to wrap it all up and go on with our honeymoon, but nothing is ever that easy in my life. I understand that. I have no expectations of 'the easy way'. So we squared our shoulders and carried on.

Because _**Le Cellier **_is the hardest restaurant to get into at Disney World Ranger had pulled strings to get us a table. But he couldn't do much about the time our table was for. Our reservation was for six pm. I was actually okay with that. I didn't do so well these days when I ate dinner late. My stomach occasionally rebelled the next morning. I found that if I eat my evening meal a little earlier, my mornings usually start off a little smoother. It made me feel like Grandma Mazur, but that's just the way it goes. Deep inside, I had a feeling that the early bird special came into being because of pregnant women. Probably not, but it made me feel better. Anyway an early dinner reservation meant we had a little more time at the _**World Showcase**_ at _**EPCOT**_ afterwards and I was pretty excited by that. We were on our honeymoon. We were at Disney World. It was only fair we'd get to have a little bit of fun.

I took a quick shower and changed into a loose flowing skirt, comfy sandals and a form fitting halter top. I wouldn't be able to wear that halter top a whole lot longer. I wasn't one of those girls who'd wear my jeans and just leave the buttons undone while I was pregnant. I had every intention of wearing clothes that declared to any and everyone that there was a baby on board and in my mind, the sooner the better. I mean usually. But sometimes when Ric gave me that look he gives me, I'm grateful that I still have a shape that isn't mostly basketball. Anyway when I finished getting dressed Ric said I looked hot. I believed him since he tried to get me back into bed.

We met Natalie and Cal by the elevator on our floor and headed for the park together. We would ride the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom, and then switch monorail trains to get to EPCOT. Most of our crowd, if not all of us, planned to head to EPCOT later on. It varied as to who was having dinner with who, but we all got along and our morning and afternoon meetings as well as the time before and after were filled with good humor and playful badgering. It was a good group to work with. When he picked our team, Ranger did an excellent job.

When the monorail stopped at the platform we were again the only ones there waiting for the train. The door to the front car opened and a family exited and again, we got to sit in the front of the monorail train. I snuggled up to my husband as I remembered how uncomfortable I felt hovering over the ground the last time. Natalie was excited, but Cal was ecstatic. He was like a little kid and kept peering over the edge of the car to see the people and the ground below. He was fun to watch. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought bringing my children here would be about that much fun to watch. I smiled up at Ric and knew he was reading my thoughts. It was confirmed by his next statement.

"We need to bring Lester next," he murmured in my ear.

I just laughed. Yea, he got me.

We changed trains at the station at the Magic Kingdom and took the ride to EPCOT all alone in a car near the back of the monorail train.

As soon as we started moving Cal turned back to the subject of our crime. "What are you going to do about this Jake guy? It sounds like Aurora and Ariel have differing opinions of him."

"One of them slept with him and one didn't," I shrugged. "According to Amanda, the guy is magic in bed so maybe that's why she doesn't have a problem with him. Joanna never slept with him, so her view of him is probably colored by the fact that he slept with both of her friends."

"And Sandy asked Jake to sleep with Amanda," Natalie frowned.

"Yea," I shook my head. "I don't get that at all."

"Me either," she sighed. "Okay…if Jake and Sandy are just friends…it sort of makes sense. Obviously Amanda was horny and Sandy knew Jake could get the job done. But he didn't want to. She had to talk him into it. That means that he had some real reason to not want to do it. But what was the reason?"

"Maybe he just wasn't that into her," I suggested.

"Dude," Cal shook his head. "If he's anything like the Lothario that princess number one says he is…it wouldn't matter if he's that into her or not. She's a hot piece of ass…right?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Baby, I don't mean that I feel that way, but there are guys that are like that," he waggled his brows at her.

"Like Lester used to be before Marina," I nodded.

"Exactly," he said adamantly. "There's no way that Lester would turn down free strange with no commitment necessary. It just wouldn't happen in the old days."

"Honey, you're such a poet," Natalie teased.

He laughed, "Well it's true."

"I know. That doesn't mean I like it."

"So what we're saying here is that either he's not the Lothario that princess number one thinks he is or…" Ranger sat back thoughtfully.

"He's totally into someone else and he doesn't like to dip his wick into another…" I began.

He put his hand over my mouth, "Babe…"

I grinned up at him. "That's all I'm saying."

"I know," he got up when the train stopped and we exited the car. We went through security and the entrance with our biometric keys to the kingdom and landed in front of a huge number of monoliths.

"What's this," I blinked.

"According to the guide book, this is the Leave a Legacy tile area. At the turn of the century people could get their name or their pictures on a tile for around thirty five bucks," Cal said seriously. "And about seven hundred and fifty thousand people did."

"You're kidding," I said in awe.

"Yea…it kinda makes you wish we'd gotten here a little bit sooner," he said sadly.

"Yea," I sighed.

"Okay Babe…where is Le Cellier? I'm getting hungry and our dinner reservation is in a little less than thirty minutes."

"Er…it's in the World Show Case in the Canadian Pavilion," I said as I consulted the map. "We just head through that way and turn right when we get to the lake. Canada is the first country in the World Showcase."

"Man, this sounds so cool," Cal grinned. "And Ranger's hungry…isn't that twice today?"

I laughed, "He said it yesterday too."

"Man, I should be keeping track of this. What are you doing to him that's keeping him hungry?"

I just grinned.

"That's what I thought," he laughed and reached for his wife's hand.

We set a pace that Natalie and her short legs wouldn't have trouble keeping and headed on our way. By the time we arrived at our destination (within our fifteen minute check in time) we had already figured out that this was a place we needed a whole day for.

Within five minutes we were seated in the Dining Room. We were seated in a little nook in the corner. The restaurant was in the lower level of the Canadian pavilion in what greatly resembled a cellar. Each section of the restaurant is named for a province of Canada. There was a huge fireplace, not currently lit. There were candles on the tables. It was a lovely atmosphere.

"God I want a LeBatt," Cal groaned when the hostess walked away.

"You're in luck, they have it," Ranger said. "I think I'll have a Molson. Babe, are you going to be okay?"

"I'll just kiss you to get a taste," I grinned.

"Anytime," he grinned and leaned over to kiss me.

I got water and the boys got beer. That I could have handled, I mean I can handle it anyway, but then Natalie ordered a Chocolate Vanilla Martini and I was in agony.

"Are you okay Steph," she laughed at the expression on my face.

"Just memorize the flavors so we can duplicate it for Mike later," I sighed.

"Done," she agreed.

"Babe…I'll bring you back after the bean is born so you can have one."

"It will have to be after I finish breast feeding," I sighed. "We don't need a drunk baby."

He laughed, "No, we do not."

When they delivered our appetizers, we started chatting. Ranger had a mixed green salad with a rose vinaigrette dressing. Cal had Spicy Chicken Chipotle Sausage. Natalie had Seafood Salad and I had Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup made with Canadian beer. That was as close as I was going to get to having a drink.

"So how is married life," I smiled as I blew on my soup before swallowing the divine flavor with a moan.

"I love it," Natalie sighed. "He mows the grass. I do the laundry. We go to the grocery store together. It's great."

I sighed, "We haven't even had a chance to do that yet since we got back together. Ric, why don't you ever go to the grocery store with me?"

He just looked at me blankly.

"Right," I sighed and shook my head.

"You don't know what you're missing dude," Cal shook his head.

"I just never got the urge to go to the grocery store," Ranger shook his head. "Tell me why I want to go pick out mushrooms."

"Natalie is a great cook. I mean she's a great cook. I do love going to the grocery store with her and I'll tell you why. While we're there I'll tell her something I like kind of casually in passing and the next thing you know…we're in the kitchen and I'm chopping and she's creating magic and I'm getting what I mentioned for dinner. It's cool."

"It sounds cool," Ranger sat back and took a draw off his beer. "Maybe I'll try it."

"You won't regret it," Cal assured him.

"I do love being in the kitchen with her. It's one of my favorite parts of the day."

"Oh dude, I hear you. It's like where we totally break down the day and then let it all go. My stress level is like nil. Well, it will go back to being nil as soon as I'm back to full duty. I really appreciate you letting me come on this trip."

"You almost died man," Ranger said.

"Yea, well I feel useful again. There are only so many times I can mow the grass when it's raining in April in Trenton."

"You're good at what you do Cal. You saved a lot of lives. The least I can do is give you a trip to Disney World," Ranger grinned. "Besides, Stephanie would have killed me if Natalie wasn't here."

"True that," I nodded.

"Well, we both appreciate it," Natalie smiled.

"So is it what you expected it to be Natalie," Ranger smiled at her, "marriage I mean?"

"When I was a kid, I had these weird ideas of what married life would be like. In my head it was this kind of fairy tale. The husband and wife never did any chores, they left for work with briefcases and horn rimmed glasses, but in my imagination they didn't really do anything when they got there. Then they'd come home and have dinner, which magically appeared on the table, and then watch television. At some point in my teen years, sex was added," she laughed. "But my view wasn't very realistic at all."

"Oh baby," Cal sighed.

"No honey…the sex part is better. The rest of it was off base," she laughed. "I have found that the real deal is about a million times better."

"Yea, it is," I agreed.

"And not just because the sex is off the charts," she grinned at her husband who laughed.

"Even though it is," I raised my water glass to my own husband.

He raised his beer to me, "yes it is."

"What about you? I mean you haven't really had time to get to be married alone in your own house since the shit all hit the fan with George. Are you guys doing okay?"

"We're great," I smiled. "We're pregnant. We have a home. Ranger's doing great business-wise, even in this economy. We're good. We finally learned to communicate, and we're still working on it. It's about a zillion times better than it was with Dickie. Life is good."

"Speaking of business," Cal said with a smile. "You should think about investing in Mike and Unit."

"Done and done," Ranger grinned.

"I should have known that you'd see a great opportunity and grab it."

"You know it," he leaned on the table. "Tank and I have decided to diversify. We're going to look at other companies to buy and get our hands in. We're thinking up and coming companies or companies that had a great idea, but poor management. I think we're even considering buying out a few companies in trouble."

"Like Chrysler," Natalie teased.

"Maybe not that bad," he laughed. "But we've got some good people in our organization. We may as well take advantage of their skills and get involved in something new."

"Yea," I nodded. "And I was thinking…"

"What Babe," Ranger raised a brow.

"What if we do it green," I suggested.

"What do you mean," he frowned.

"You know…like we used low VOC paints in the house and at the new Rangeman Campus. We used Bamboo…a renewable resource. I think we could go a step farther."

"Like how," he asked.

"How about harnessing wind energy. God knows there's enough of it in Trenton. And solar energy," I suggested.

"We have solar energy already," he nodded. "I didn't even think about wind energy. That's a great idea. If we play our cards right, we'll be almost unto ourselves on the compound."

"Plant a garden," Natalie suggested. "Compost…and of course…"

"Recycle," we said together with a grin.

"We already recycle, but you guys have some good points. I'll talk to Alex about it and see what it would take to get Sizzlin in the same shape. Also…we'll talk to Mike. Maybe we can build the other restaurants green and be known for that."

"That will qualify you for even more government accolades and stuff," Cal nodded. "Nat and I are looking to redo our house green. But first…"

"First," I raised a brow.

"There's supposedly an endangered species of grub worm in our back yard," Natalie groaned. "We can't do anything until the EPA and a bunch of other organizations clear us to work."

"You're kidding," I blinked at her.

"No," she shook her head sadly. "It's been a pain in the ass so far, but as soon as they clear us, it's going to be great."

"According to what we've learned there are a bunch of endangered things in and around the Trenton area including in the Jersey Pine Barrens," Cal said seriously. "I had no idea that Jersey was such a hotbed of eco activity."

"Right," I rolled my eyes. "Do you mean like the Jersey Devil?"

"Steph…you're unmentionable," Cal reminded me. "You can't blow shit like the Jersey Devil off. He could be one of you."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes again. "I'll believe that when Lula starts going to TPD and hanging out."

Natalie giggled, "Not gonna happen."

"Not gonna happen," I agreed.

Cal and Ranger raised a brow.

"She's got allergies," I said with a straight face.

"To what," Ranger raised a brow in question.

"Cops," Natalie said and burst into giggles and I joined her.

"Right," Ranger shook his head again with a smile. He leaned back so the waiter could place the Pan Seared King Salmon in front of him. "That looks good."

Cal stared unblinking at his Herb Roasted Prime Rib.

"Earth to Cal," Natalie waved her hand in front of his face.

"Damn that looks good," he groaned.

"I thought you only looked at me like that," she pouted.

He laughed and kissed her, "what's on your plate?"

"Chicken Coq au Vin," she grinned.

"Trade you a bite," he groaned again.

"Deal," she said and cut into the chicken.

"What about you Babe," Ranger asked with a slight smile.

"I'm having Mushroom Filet Mignon," I sighed and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "but quite suddenly I have the desire to clear the dining room and have you."

He groaned, "Babe…"

"We're on our honeymoon," I pouted.

"How can I make it up to you?"

"Two cataclysmic orgasms tonight," I said sweetly.

"Make it three and you have yourself a deal," he whispered in my ear and licked the lobe just to make sure I knew he meant it.

"Deal," I said breathlessly.

Okay…the steak was good, but honestly…when I know that I have three sky rocketing cataclysmic orgasms coming later…food is not that interesting if you know what I mean. Most of you probably already got that. You know I've wavered in the past about what was more important, but now that I know how to cook myself…not so much.

There wasn't much talking while we were eating. When we did talk, it was about dessert. We agreed to get four different things and that way everyone could have a taste. Ranger of course got the most boring thing on the menu. He got Seasonal Sorbets. Cal got Chocolate on chocolate whiskey cake. Natalie got Apple Rhubarb crumble and I got the Chocolate Moose. I hate to say it, but after a few bites of Ranger's tart but sweet Raspberry sorbet, I was begging him to trade with me. He didn't. But he did let me eat most of the raspberry.

We exited the restaurant at a few minutes after seven and EPCOT didn't close till eleven that night. As we started walking we ran into the rest of our crew and the party began.


	9. TTA22 09 Illuminations & Pastries

If I owned them, I'd be making boucoup bucks and pillaging for publishable ideas. I don't own them so I put ideas out there to be pillaged and I make zero doing it. It's a short one, the next one will be longer.

* * *

"What do we do first," Ranger asked as we all stood out of the way near the rails around the lake.

"We should head to Future World," Kate suggested. "It's supposed to close at nine and the World Showcase is open till eleven."

"Let's do that then. Are there rides or what," Manuel asked.

"There are rides," Natalie said. "I think the pregnant girls might want to head to Ellen's Energy Adventure and those of us who are dare devils can do Mission Space."

"Sounds good," I shrugged and looped my arm through Padma's with a grin.

"I'm going with you," Ranger said reaching for my hand.

"Oh man," Gabe groaned.

Padma laughed, "Go on to the Mission Gabe. Henry and I will go to the World of Energy and meet you later."

"Are you sure," he sighed.

"I'm sure."

We split into groups. Manuel, Padma, Tank and Lula went with Ranger and I to the World of Energy and everyone else went to Mission Space.

We walked into the World of Energy just as the lights dimmed and Ellen DeGeneres filled the screens in front of us. She dreamed about going on jeopardy where her college room-mate, dumb Judy (played by a lovely Jamie Lee Curtis) and Albert Einstein were her foes. She didn't do well. At the halfway point her next door neighbor, Bill Nye the Science Guy, came and took her on a trip through time to discover energy. We were then allowed into a large room with bench seats and more screens surrounding us. After a few minutes and a few laughs the seating began to move and we 'the audience' travelled back through time with Ellen and Bill to the land of the dinosaurs. I'd tell you how it ends, but I don't want to ruin it for you if you go there yourself. It was fun. I laughed a lot and I cuddled Ranger in the dark. It was good.

We only waited for them a few minutes before they came out laughing and giggling. They'd had a good time, but Kate and Natalie swore they'd never do it again. We assured them that our ride had been relaxed and fun.

From there we went to Test Track. Only Padma and I elected to sit this one out after reading the warning for pregnant women. We found a comfortable spot in the shade and waited. They weren't actually gone that long and when they came off in waves, they were grinning. Even my stoic husband Ranger was grinning ear to ear. I think Ranger's a closet thrill ride guy and someday I plan to find out with him.

After Test Track we headed toward Space Ship Earth. This was a nice sedate ride through the big ball at the front of the park. It was about communication beginning with cave man drawings and going all the way to fiber optics and satellites through space. It was interesting, but I spent most of it making out with Ranger. Okay…it was fun, but it was my kind of fun.

By the time we finished Spaceship Earth it was almost eight thirty. We had special seating for the fireworks laser show in the World Showcase that was scheduled for nine o'clock. We decided we better head that way especially if we wanted to get snacks before we got there. It was also past the Canadian Pavilion where we'd had dinner. According to the map we had to go past the United Kingdom and veer left before we got to France. Yea, it was weird, but pretty exact. We paused in the UK so the men could stock up on yards of beer. The yard of beer was served in yard long glasses with narrow necks. It was pretty cool and they got to keep the glasses.

Natalie squealed, "Stephanie…look…"

"What is a Boulangerie Pattisserie?"

"A pastry shop," she grinned.

"Girl, lead the way," I laughed.

The men elected to find us seats at the special area and the women headed for the pastry shop. I walked out of there with several chocolate croissants, a couple of bags of Madeline cookies, a caramel soufflé and some napoleons. Natalie just shook her head, but I need snacks. I get hungry in the middle of a bunch of cataclysmic orgasms. I was preparing for later. Besides, all the girls had more than two things in their hands. They'd probably share theirs with their husbands. I had no such plans, besides…his body is a temple and what I was carrying in my hands was all sugar. Also, I'm pregnant. I have to keep up my strength and make sure that my influence on our baby was at least equal to his super DNA. A girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Ranger looked in the bag I was holding when I sat down and shook his head.

"What," I blinked.

"We just had dinner…a lot of dinner and you ate one and a half desserts," he reminded me.

"What's your point," I raised a brow.

"No point Babe," he grinned.

"I'm eating for two."

"Right," he nodded.

"I am," I glared at him.

"I know," he laughed. Just then the lights around the park dimmed and music began and EPCOT's Illuminations show had begun.

The show combines lights, lasers, fireworks and music for a spectacular show that leaves guests with mouths open and eyes wide with awe. Well, that's how I felt. I thought most of us felt that way. Ranger's mouth wasn't open, but he appeared to enjoy it.

When we finished the show we were agog with excitement and to calm down we shopped through the Canada, France and the UK. We shopped all the way through Morocco and even Japan. Ranger talked me into a gorgeous kimono and I would only agree if he returned the favor. I had all kinds of erotic images in my head when I saw him in the silk. Oh yea! We eventually found a couple that we both liked. He also took a chance with the oysters and ordered up earrings with what he found. The earrings were pearl and opal, my birthstone, and they were gorgeous. We spent a lot of money in the Japanese Pavilion. I was okay with that.

Our next stop was the US and we pretty much by-passed it believing we knew everything. Ha! A later trip would prove how wrong we all were, but for now we forged on to Italy. The smells that filled the pavilion were amazing. But we shopped buying only chocolates and wines. We had both shipped home. Well, most of the chocolate was shipped home.

When we hit Germany we took a break with more beer for the guys and more pastries for the girls. Okay…I know, but the pretzels were calling my name.

"So," Tank leaned forward at our table and fixed Ranger with a look, "I heard from Margolis about this Jake character."

"What did you hear?"

"They can't find him. He was supposed to work today and he never showed."

"Is this the first time he's been scheduled since Sandy's body was found," I said thoughtfully.

"Yea," he nodded.

"Do you think he's good for it?"

"I don't know yet," he shrugged. "I have no feeling one way or the other based on anything that Margolis said or any of the Intel we've gotten so far. I'd really like to talk to him or have you talk to the guy face to face. I'd like to get Stephanie's feelings on the guy. I trust her instincts more than my own for sure."

"I know what you mean," Ranger sighed. "We'll make that a priority tomorrow then."

"I think that's a plan," he nodded.

"I have a feeling you'll find him at home," I said softly.

"Wouldn't he have answered his phone if he was at home," Tank raised a brow.

"He's in mourning," I said seriously.

"Well sure, they were friends," he agreed.

"I think he was in love with her. I think that's why he was opposed to doing the friend."

"Oh man," he sighed heavily. "Do you think he killed her?"

"It's a possibility," I said softly. "I guess it depends on how much she rejected him. I'd really love it if we could finish processing her IPhone."

"Ali is on it," Ranger said quietly. "She says Sandy was smart. She has a real intricate code."

"Tell her to run Jake's info as a possibility for the code. Maybe there's a combination there."

"We'll try it tomorrow."

"Do you think she cared about him Babe," Ranger frowned.

"Something's hinky about this, Ranger," I shook my head. "I don't know what it is yet, but I'll figure it out."

"I know you will," he agreed.

"In the meantime, we only have forty-five minutes until the park closes and we've still got three pavilions to visit," I got to my feet. "That gives us fifteen minutes per pavilion and that's not enough."

"Got it," he laughed and got to his feet. "Lead the way Babe."

Our next stop was China. We spent a little more than our allotted time there…shopping. I would have felt guilty, but I didn't want to. Then we headed to Norway. We rode the Maelstrom then ran to Mexico. We barely made it through the doors to ride the 'Grand Fiesta Tour' ride. It was sedate and kind of cheesy. We bought a few things at that shop and when we left the building it was almost eleven thirty.

We strolled out with other park goers. To our surprise there were no security people rushing us to the gate. We strolled and stopped and shopped at little kiosks along the way. Ranger and I bought lanyards for everyone and we started buying pins as collectibles. Everyone participated. It gave us another thing to do together and that was pretty cool.

By the time we got back to our room, it was a quarter after twelve. I was tired, but not so tired that I wasn't going to hold my husband up to his promise of three earth shattering orgasms. I took a quick shower while he checked his messages and when I returned to the bedroom drying my hair he was lying back on the bed naked and gazing at the ceiling in what had once been my thinking position.

I climbed on top of him and straddled him, "what are you thinking about?"

"This case," he sighed and pulled me down on top of him to press kisses in my neck.

"What about this case?"

"I was thinking about your theory on Jake Freeman," he sighed. "If Sandy had consensual sex with Jake Wheeler shortly before she was murdered…"

"Have we got a DNA profile from the semen yet," I asked.

"He didn't have it this afternoon. It was still running when we left. He'll have it in the morning."

"Then we'll run it through CODIS, right?"

"Right," he nodded.

"What did Kate say about the time difference between the semen donation and her death?"

"I don't know," he frowned. "I didn't ask her. Do you think we can narrow it down?"

"Semen has a shelf life like most things honey. It loses its punch after a while. The little swimmers start to die off and within seventy-two hours, they're all dead."

"So she can give us an approximate time of intercourse in comparison to death?"

"Well, she can if they took slides of the semen when they took her in for autopsy and she has all the variables like Sandy's biology and the ambient temp and body temp and..."

"You missed your calling Babe. You'd have been a great cop."

I laughed as he rolled me to my back, "if I was a cop, I probably wouldn't have met you."

"Oh I don't think I believe that anymore," he said kissing down my body and stopping to lick a pink tipped breast. "I think you and I were cosmically aligned. We were meant to be."

"Is that so," I smiled and gasped when he took the nipple between his teeth. My body automatically arched up against him.

He let go and kissed my breast. "That is so," he assured me moving to the other breast.

"Why do you think that," I whispered as his fingers slid into my warm wet body.

"Because," he slid up and inside of me, "we're a perfect fit."

"That we are," I agreed as my eyes started rolling back in my head, "that we are."


	10. TTA22 10 Prince Charming

Janet owns them, I use and abuse them. I make diddly squat. Sorry I'm late, life distracted me. Oops!

* * *

We made it a point to be on time for the morning meeting. As a matter of fact, we were early. We'd even ordered room service to be delivered to the meeting and when our staff arrived they were greeted with the aromas of food and fresh coffee.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Woody sighed. "They're up. We have food and everyone has clothes on."

"You say that like it's a good thing," Connie pouted.

"Everybody but you and me sugar," he kissed her.

"Well…I don't want to see either one of you naked," I said pointedly. "It might cause embarrassing moments in our future."

"I didn't mean in front of you Stephanie. But these guys, except for Brian and Manuel have already seen me naked..."

"Too much information," I held my hand up in the universal sign for 'stop'.

"Not in a sexual way," he laughed.

"What about that time in Jamaica," Cal raised a brow at him.

"Dude…that was an accident," Woody said seriously.

"So you say," Cal nodded thoughtfully.

"And you wanted to be on time for the morning meeting," I said to Ranger in accusation. "You wanted to be a swell guy and get everyone breakfast. You didn't warn me that it would include any past sexual memories between…"

"Babe," Ranger's brow went up. "You know me better than that."

"Don't look at me," Cal said putting his hands in the air. "I wasn't running around the beach in Jamaica with a hard on."

"That would be a sight to see," Natalie purred.

"This is getting out of hand," Tank sighed.

"Wait," Lula blinked, "are you saying white boy here has a big dick?"

"Lula," Natalie shook her head, "He's six foot six and he's anatomically correct. I promise you everything is in proportion in a generous way."

"Holy shit," she said and her eyes narrowed on Cal in speculation.

"Baby," Tank sighed.

"Oh honey…you know you got nothing to worry about," Lula licked her lips at her husband. "You're the reason the rumors about black men's dicks got started in the first place."

"Just making sure," he said with a smile.

"Anyway everybody knows that Mexican men and Asian men have the smallest dicks," Woody said with a nod.

"Oh no, you did not go there," Manuel growled.

"Not you dude," Woody put his hands up in surrender. "For one thing you're taller than most of them and you're…well, you're Manuel Forturo."

"Damn Skippy," he nodded and crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair.

Ranger looked over at me, "when did I lose control?"

"When did you have control," I blinked.

"Babe," he sighed.

"I mean on this trip," I said sweetly. "Look honey, this is practically a vacation for everyone. Let them finish their breakfast and then we'll start on the gruesome details of the murder."

"Fine," he sighed.

I leaned over, "but for the record yours is magnificent."

He grinned and leaned over to kiss me.

"Now…there they go again. We can't talk about dicks and hard-ons around Stephanie," Mitch reminded the guys. "Her Hungarian hormones go all berserk and they'll disappear till noon and we'll be left sitting here cooling our jets till the appropriate number of 'ohGodRicohGod's go by," he rolled his eyes.

"Really," Ali looked over at us in speculation, "I wouldn't have pegged you for a wild one Steph."

"I'm Hungarian too," I reminded her.

"Oh yea," she nodded. "You have a point."

"Wait," Mitch raised a brow at Ali, "you're Hungarian?"

"Yea," she grinned.

"Interesting," he nodded in speculation.

Ali just grinned back at him.

I shook my head, "what was Daddy thinking?"

Ranger laughed, "as long as he doesn't blame me, I don't care."

From there Gabe mentioned that it wasn't the size of the boat it was the motion of the ocean and did a little hip thing that is going to be forever burned in my memory. Manuel met him in a high five and they busted out laughing.

"You just saying that because what swings between your legs is more a diddle than a ride," Lula asked with a snort.

Padma laughed, "no honey…he is definitely not saying that. I didn't marry him for his ability to take out the garbage."

"Heard that," Lula laughed and the girls hands met in another high five.

"What's the company policy for sexual harassment," I whispered.

"Does it count if they're all doing it," Ranger raised a brow. "Maybe when we get back we need a couple more of those diversified workplace seminars though."

I shrugged and took a bite of French toast.

"So if I'm Hungarian, what are you," Ali asked Mitch with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Dangerous," he grinned.

"How dangerous," she asked.

"Very, very dangerous," he said seriously.

"Babe, I think your back up plan just bit the dust," Ranger muttered.

"Bite me," I rolled my eyes.

He grinned, "Later."

Eventually we finished eating and put our dishes in the provided containers for collection later. Everyone refilled their coffee or beverage of choice and Ranger got to his feet.

"Good morning," he raised a brow. "Manuel…let's start with you. Did your DNA check come back with a good profile?"

"I got two profiles," he shook his head, "three if you count the vic. There were two male donors. That's what took so long. I had to clean it up and keep running it with portions. But now it's done. It's running through CODIS now, but I'll be honest with you, I'm not expecting a hit."

"I'm not either," Ranger nodded with a sigh. "Let me know the results when you get them, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded.

"Has any of the other evidence been useful?"

"Actually yes," he nodded. "I was able to extract a DNA sample from a cigarette butt found at the scene. This was especially telling since there is no smoking inside any Disney building. This butt was collected in the doorway to the display window where Sandy's body was found. Natalie caught that one."

"Good job Natalie," Ranger nodded at her in pride.

She blushed, "thanks."

"The DNA on the cigarette matches one of the semen samples. One of our players was at the scene."

"Good work," Ranger nodded. He turned to Kate, "Kate, Stephanie was telling me that semen basically has a shelf life?"

"That's true," Kate nodded and winked at me. "Semen or more accurately sperm more or less expires in seventy-two hours when conditions are favorable. Favorable conditions are a warm, moist environment. Semen is designed to handle a woman's body alkalies to a certain degree. If a body begins to cool or is extensively cleaned or other things happen, the semen becomes less viable. During ejaculation approximately sixty million sperm are released. More than half die in the first four to five hours. Once it's outside the body and air hits it, it dies almost immediately. I looked at the slides of semen taken from Sandy and I was confused. Now I understand, thanks to Manuel's explanation of two donors why I was confused. One of the donors left his specimen approximately four to seven hours prior to her death. Based on what I saw, I'd say there were multiple donations by one of the donors. The second donor, his donation was within a very short time of her death and there was only the single donation. I'd say within the hour."

"Would it be possible for you tell which donor left the latest sample," Ranger asked seriously.

"Only if we could separate the donations on the slide and then type them based on what I saw as far as the deterioration went," she sighed. "Manuel…"

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "I've got a lot to work with, but…" He frowned, "do you still have the original slides?"

"Yea," she nodded. "They're in the fridge in your lab."

"If I pull them now and we isolate those sperm cells one from the other, can you say which is older and which is newer?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"Then let me see what I can do," he nodded.

"Great," Ranger nodded. "Also I got a text message from Jack Margolis regarding Jake Freeman. We followed Stephanie's other hunch and found him at home. Stephanie and I will be going to speak to him later today." He turned to Ali, "did you have any luck with the phone yet?"

She held up the phone with a grin. "I used the data you guys gave me this morning and came up with the answer. I can access her email and her messages now. Most of the messages are pretty mundane. A lot are from Jake Freeman asking her to please call him, he's worried about her. A few prior to the time of her death are from various public phones throughout the park. I'm afraid after this much time dusting for prints is pretty much a waste of time on the public phones because of Disney's cleanliness standards, but if you want to give it a try, we can do that."

"Give us those locations," he nodded. "Gabe, Cal and Mitch…you're on that detail."

The men nodded.

"Lula, Padma, Natalie and Jess…I need you to go through the underground tunnels where the princesses are mostly housed and moved and talk to everyone there. A young woman by the name of Caroline Watermill is going to meet you at the front gate to the Magic Kingdom at ten o'clock. She'll take you below. Make sure that you have your badges and the phones that Tank issued you. Just talk to people. Find out what they thought of Sandy. Ask if anyone noticed anything unusual. Note any unusual reactions and when we meet for the afternoon debriefing, let me know what you think."

The women nodded and grinned at each other.

"Ali, continue with the messages and emails. Get as many of them as you can transcribed. If any voice messages are left, let's analyze that data as well. Connie, can you stick with Manuel?"

"Oh yea," she grinned. "I love this job."

I laughed.

"It's fun," she admitted. "I'm thinking about pursuing another career."

"Good for you," I said and gave her a thumbs up.

"Kate, you know where you are. Tank and Brian, you're with Stephanie and me. Woody, I need you to stay here and create a time line and the evidence to support it. You have a whiteboard," he waved toward the wall. "If you need other materials procure them. Does anyone have any questions?" He looked around the room, "good, let's do this thing."

"Since when have you needed me to question a suspect," Tank asked as we walked to the SUV parked under the hotel.

"I don't know about this kid. Everyone else agreed to meet us easily. I'm worried he might run and right now, there's a fifty-fifty chance that he's the doer."

I sighed.

"What Steph," Brian asked.

"I just don't think it's him," I said softly.

"What makes you think that? Is it a tingle," Ranger asked seriously.

"More like feminine intuition," I smiled. "We'll see."

Jake Freeman lived in a decent sized condo in a fairly good section of Kissimmee. I was actually impressed, until I took the Forturos in I hadn't lived in a place nearly that nice. His condo was really attractive and the SUV sitting out front was pretty nice too.

He didn't answer the door right away. Tank finally banged heavily.

"What in the fuck do you want," the young man said as he slung the door open. He was wearing a pair of light sweat pants that he'd apparently been wearing for a few days. He had a couple days growth of beard. His eyes were blood shot and he looked rough. You could tell though that he was attractive under all of that.

"Mr. Jake Freeman," Brian said coolly.

"Yea," he nodded.

"We're with Rangeman Security. We've been authorized by the Buena Vista Police to investigate the murder of Sandy Rice."

His face crumbled and his eyes filled with tears. He silently stepped aside and allowed us to enter the condo. It was decorated in early bachelor. That means black leather and steel, chrome and glass. But it was fairly neat and none of it was really cheap stuff.

"She's really gone," he whispered and sank to the sofa.

"When's the last time you ate something," I frowned.

"I don't know," he said falling back on the couch and stared ahead silently.

I sighed and got up and went to the kitchen to make him something to eat and listen to the guys question him.

"When is the last time you saw her," Brian said gently.

"I saw her the night before she was murdered," he said tiredly. "She called me at about three that afternoon and left a message on my cell phone. She was with her friends…the princesses," he smirked when he said that. "She said they'd had lunch at McDonald's and they were going to do a little shopping at the Florida Mall. She said she was going to pick something up at the lingerie store there and come by my place later."

"What store," I asked from the kitchen.

"Sizzlin," he said with a slight smile. "She loved that place."

I smiled and went back to my work.

"So she came by later," Brian asked.

"Yea," he nodded. "I finished my shift at about eleven and didn't get home till almost midnight. She was already here. She had a key. She was wearing this…wow… It's still on my bedroom floor," he sighed. "Anyway…we made love a couple of times and then ate some bacon and eggs and made love a couple of more times. We went to sleep around four."

"She stayed the night," Ranger asked.

"Yea," he nodded. "She always stayed."

"Did you ever stay at her place," Brian asked.

"Not often," he frowned. "When we first started seeing each other I did, but then about four months ago…she started coming here all the time. I didn't think much about it at first. But…I had a feeling that something was bothering her."

"Connected with her place," Ranger asked.

"Sort of," he nodded.

I handed him a plate with one of Ranger's famous burritos on it and some sliced cantaloupe. I also gave him a glass of juice.

"This is really very nice of you," he said. "It smells great."

"Thank you," I sank down on the coffee table in front of him. "How long have you been in love with her?"

Tank, Brian and Ranger's brows went up at my question. But none of them interrupted me. I guess they knew I was on to something.

"Forever," he sighed. "She…I thought she felt the same way about me too, you know? Then about the same time she started coming here all the time she started pulling away from me emotionally. A little while after that she pushed her friend Amanda on me too." He turned brick red, "I agreed to have sex with her, but when it came down to it…I couldn't. Amanda lied to Sandy about it and Sandy seemed happy to believe we'd had sex. I didn't clear up the misunderstanding. There seemed little point."

"You have no idea what happened," I said softly.

"None," he shook his head. "I know people think I'm some kind of bed hopping guy around there going from princess to princess or groupie to groupie, but I'm not like that. Maybe once I was, but since I met Sandy I didn't want anyone else," he said miserably. "Amanda told everyone that I screwed both of them. When I was younger maybe, but now…I love her. I didn't want anyone else. I wanted to marry her. I even bought a ring. I do some modeling, commercials and some other television and movie work here besides the gig at Disney. I do okay. I have been saving my money and I want to get out of here and go back to school and…" His voice broke and he stopped for a second as his jaw worked to control his pain, "I wanted to marry her and get out. I know there's something wrong here. Please find out who did this. I'm begging you, find out who did this."

"We'll do our best," I said softly and put my hand on his arm. "Jake is there anything you can tell us about her habits or how her habits have changed in the last several months?"

He took a deep breath, "she stopped hanging out with her friends as much as she used to. I mean they were joined at the hip at one time. Then about four months ago, they stopped hanging out. Eventually they started meeting for lunch somewhere at Downtown Disney every other week or so. She always came here after that. Something in their relationship changed big time. She also stopped driving to work. She took the bus and then the employee shuttle. I thought that was weird. She said it was to save fuel and go green. But she liked the crowds. If she had to work a late shift, she'd ride home with me. She planned it in advance. It's like she was afraid to walk through the parking lot or something alone."

"How often is anyone really alone there," I blinked.

"Not much," he smiled. "But when you're part of the entertainment cast, you leave earlier than most of the rest of the cast at night so it's a little quiet when you leave. I guess she had a scare or something."

"She didn't name any names," Ranger asked.

"No," he shook his head, "and she wouldn't talk about it when I asked her either."

"What are you going to do," Brian asked.

"I'd like to go to Trenton for her funeral. I spoke to her mother and it will be in two days. If I promise to return, will it be a problem for me to go?"

The three men looked at me.

I smiled, "I shouldn't think so. As a matter of fact, I think it's a really good idea for you to pack up and take off today. Let us know when you're coming back too." I handed him my card.

"You think whoever killed her may come after me," he frowned.

"I don't know," I said with a smile, "but why take any chances."

"Okay," he nodded. "Thank you for lunch."

"Will you fly or drive," Ranger asked.

"I'll fly and rent a car," he said.

"Let's make the arrangements and get you to the airport."

I nodded thankfully at my brilliant husband.

"Leave it to us," Tank assured him.

"One more thing," I dug through my purse till I found the glass cylinder with the long Q-tip inside. "Would you mind?"

"DNA sample," he said wide-eyed, "really?"

"Really," I smiled. "We already know you had sex with the victim prior to her death. We want to make sure your sample is excluded."

He nodded and allowed me to swab his mouth.

I put the Q-tip back in the vial and closed it and returned it to my purse.

Jake reached over and gently touched the back of my hand, "you'll find him? You'll stop him?"

I nodded.

He sighed, "Thanks. I better get a shower and pack."

"Good idea," I nodded.

Four hours later we walked Jake Freeman to security at Orlando International and left the airport with a sigh of relief.

"You think whoever killed her would go after him," Brian asked.

"If it's an obsession that some predator had over her, yea…he'd want to eliminate him. He murdered her because he was angry. He'd blame him," I nodded.

"Then he's gone and that's good," Ranger nodded.

"Yea," I sighed. "He's not the doer."

"Where does that leave us," Tank sighed.

"With a million other suspects," I sighed. "And none of them have a name."

"Great," he groaned.

"Yea," I nodded. "That's great."

The afternoon meeting told us that there was a four to five hour break between semen donations. The last donor was likely the doer. Manuel had already run the sample I'd brought back and they compared it to the two donations. Jake had told the truth, his donation had been the earlier one. Our killer was someone else and my instincts were still good.

"Ladies," Ranger turned to the women, "how was your stroll down princess lane?"

They laughed and Lula, the designated spokeswoman, got to her feet. "Well Batman, it's like this. Those girls, they're all scared of somthin. I don't know what they're scared of, but they scared. One of em…who was it Padma?"

"Jasmine," she said with a slight smile, "er…Jennifer Brooks."

"Yea…this Jasmine girl, she said that while Cinderella is the first one that's turned up murdered, but quite a few have just disappeared with no notice at all. They're concerned."

"Why wouldn't Margolis mention something like that," Mitch frowned.

"Yea, why wouldn't he," I said thoughtfully.

"Babe," Ranger raised a brow.

"I think Brian needs to head over to personnel and get a list of the girls who've just disappeared so we can start a trace. What if Sandy's not our first vic?"

"We need to find victim zero," Mitch said seriously. "If we find victim zero, we can find our killer."

Ranger took a deep breath, "Brian…"

"I'm on it," he nodded.

He turned to Tank, "you know what we need to do."

"I'll call Miami," he nodded.

At least this time their communication wasn't completely without words. I was glad of that.

"I'd say we've had a very successful day…sort of," Ranger grimaced. "Let's let go and get some relaxation in. I think we're having dinner with Padma and Gabe tonight, right Babe?"

"Right," I nodded. "We're dining at the Magic Kingdom at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends. There's no booze there."

"Thank God," Padma grinned.

"Pooh," Ranger raised a brow at me.

"As in Winnie the Pooh," I said sweetly.

He gave me his most pained expression. "Babe…"

I laughed and almost everyone in the room laughed with me.

"So…is anybody else interested in hitting the Magic Kingdom after dinner," Ranger raised a brow at them.

Everyone agreed. We had a plan. If only our plan to catch a killer was so well defined and executed.


	11. TTA22 11 Gabe & Padma Crystal Palace

She does. I do not. That's it.

* * *

I put on a pair of ecru cargo pedal pushers and a pink tank top after showering alone and getting absolutely no Ranger affection. The afternoon meeting had run long and once again our dinner reservation was for six o'clock. He had to call Trenton to respond to some enquiries and voice mails before he could do anything. Besides, it takes me twice as long as him to do anything. So we had to hurry, and that meant no afternoon delight. Damn it!

We didn't have a lot of time, but we also didn't have as far to go. That was a good thing since I needed every second I had to make my hair behave before giving up and pulling it into a pony tail of tragic proportions.

Ranger sat down beside me on the sofa and leaned over to pull the strap of his sandal tight. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready," I nodded.

"Are you disappointed," he sighed.

"Honey…we're not always going to have time. We have other people and a reservation to think of."

"That didn't answer my question," he said quietly.

"Yes, I was disappointed, but I'm trying to be a grown up here."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised and kissed my temple.

"Or you could let me make it up to you," I grinned up at him.

"I may not survive that," he laughed and got to his feet and pulled me up. "I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled up at him.

He leaned down to give me a kiss that made my toes curl and my doo-dah dampen and released me reluctantly as his cargo shorts started to twitch. "Damn it."

"I know…if this was our honeymoon we could just go back to bed," I pulled away and danced out of his reach.

"Babe," he groaned and followed me out the door.

Padma and Gabe were just exiting their room when we passed it.

"Just in time," Padma said breathlessly.

"We'd have waited," I laughed. "You're more pregnant than I am."

"Yea," she rubbed her rounded belly.

"We'll walk slowly," Ranger grinned.

"I studied the map," I grinned. "I know the way," I said seriously.

"Good girl," he nodded. "Let's head to the monorail."

We took our seats in the car and found we were the sole riders again. There obviously wasn't a lot of traffic from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom via the monorail.

"Is the heat getting to you," I said to Padma sympathetically.

"Not too bad. I'm dressing right for the season. I've been told that it will be worse in the last six weeks or so, but right now I'm fine. I'm still moving pretty good and not waddling as much as I thought I would be."

"She still works out," Gabe said proudly. "I mean she's not doing the same exercises, but she still works out."

"It's better for the birth process if you're fit," she said confidently. "We're going with natural childbirth, so I want to be as fit as possible. First babies are notoriously difficult. I want as many odds on my side as possible."

"How are you working out," I asked.

"I'm taking yoga and pilates for pregnant women," she nodded.

"Oh good idea," I said nodding. "I want to do natural childbirth too."

"What do you want Ricardo," she grinned at him.

"He wants the stork to bring the baby," I rolled my eyes.

He laughed, "I'm not that bad, but pretty close."

"Natural is better for the baby and for the mother. The fewer drugs we can introduce into our systems the better off we are."

"Who's your OBGYN," Ranger asked.

"That's the funny thing," she grinned, "Kate is."

"Really," I beamed, "she's mine too."

"She's going to end up being our corporate OBGYN," Kate laughed. "She's pretty cool."

"I know. I liked her right away. Ranger thought she was too young."

"I didn't think she was… Okay, yea, I thought she was too young. Do you blame me? She looks like she's barely out of high school. When she told us she was twenty-nine I thought she was lying at first," he chuckled.

"Yea, he inspired confidence in her for us," I rolled my eyes again.

"Babe," he grinned.

"I know, you got better," I admitted.

"When did you start showing Padma," Ranger asked as the monorail stopped at our station.

"I was almost four months before I had a pooch or anything," she said seriously. "Then it just kind of exploded from there or so it seems to me. Now I feel enormous. Then I remind myself that I have two and a half months to go and I realize I have no idea what enormous is."

"Yikes," I groaned.

"But it's okay. He's a good baby."

"You feel good," I asked.

"I feel good most of the time. I can tell when I'm not eating right or getting enough sleep, because I just feel exhausted."

"I felt like that the first couple of weeks, now I feel great," I admitted as we walked toward the entrance. "I'm sometimes a little nauseous in the morning, but most of the time I wouldn't even know that I was pregnant except that I can't eat as much…but I want to eat more often."

"Yea…our stomachs have shrunk ironically," she grinned.

"That is ironic," I nodded.

"Lead the way Babe," Ranger said once we got into the park. You know where you're going."

"I do," I agreed. We walked toward Main Street and I stopped for a moment and looked around and sighed.

"What is it," he frowned.

"I can just see why she loved it here. I can see why she'd want to find a place to park it and just watch the world go by," I said softly.

The other three looked around.

"Standing right here, I bet people from all over the world will pass us in a day. That's pretty amazing," I sighed.

"Yea it is," Ranger caught my hand. "Come on, let's go eat."

"Are you hungry again," I blinked up at him.

"I think I'm eating for you," he sighed and rubbed his flat stomach.

"Right," Padma rolled her eyes. "Gabe tries that stuff on me too. It doesn't work."

"No it doesn't. The bigger I get, the less it's gonna work too," I said seriously.

"Totally," she nodded.

"Are they ganging up on us," Gabe frowned at Ranger.

"Sure sounds like it," Ranger grinned.

The Crystal Palace is right off Main Street and to the left past Casey's Hot Dog stand. We walked it in no time at all and checked in right on time. By the time we were seated it was five minutes after six. We were seated and directed toward the buffet after our drink orders were taken.

I filled my first plate with peel and eat shrimp, Mediterranean Pasta Salad with a bowl of Smoked Corn Chowder. We just started to dig into our food when Piglet came by and flirted with the boys. I thought Piglet was a boy, so I was a little bit concerned. Ranger said he didn't do pork and Piglet was aghast. Gabe held his arms out and it ran right to him. I snapped lots of pictures and Ranger took one with me and Piglet. At the last second Piglet hugged Ranger and I got a great picture of that before the little pink character ran off.

"Great."

"The bean will love it," I showed him the photo on the digital camera. "Remind me to forward these to Jules."

"Right," he nodded and turned back to his couscous tofu and vegetable salad. Ick!

"I'm excited to hear about your venture with Mike," Padma grinned nibbling on her own salad with some kind of papaya in it. "I hope it wasn't supposed to be a secret?"

"No," Ranger chuckled. "We've already talked to Mike and we hired this girl Melissa Jennings to start scouting locations. She's concentrating on the restaurant right now, but later she's going to help Fenton with other projects. Her specialty is commercial real estate."

"Where are you going in first?"

"We're hoping for Norfolk or San Diego. We sent her to scout those areas first. Fenton's crunching the numbers to see if the market will bear another restaurant in the area. We're hoping it will work out."

"It's a great idea," she said seriously. "I don't know why it wouldn't work out."

"Thanks," he nodded.

"I know you intend to diversify and I was wondering how much you intend to do that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she bit her lip. "It's like this. My father started a publishing company in Newark when he came to this country. It's small, but it has a good reputation. He only had two children…both daughters. I'm not interested in running it and neither is Sari. She's married to an attorney and lives in Chicago. She's working as a nurse and raising kids and she's just… Well, you know what I mean. My father wants to sell the business."

"What do they publish?"

"All sorts of things," she shrugged. "They publish magazines and some church bulletins. He tells me that real estate in Newark is getting so high; he really wants to sell the business and get out. You know how it is with taxes and all. He loves it, but he's tired."

"He really wants to sell?"

"Yea," she nodded.

"Do you think it would be a serious issue to move it to Trenton?"

"Not really. One of the reasons he's retiring is because most of his employees are as old as he is. They all pretty much want to retire. That's also the downfall of purchasing the business. There would be very few employees remaining after the sale."

"That's both good and bad," Ranger nodded. "If we move it to Trenton I wouldn't have to relocate many people if they wanted to stay. I also wouldn't be left with very many people who knew the business."

"My father's new plant manager Jefferson Witt would probably stay. He's from Trenton. He's also single and shouldn't have a problem with the move. As long as he agreed to stay on, you'd be golden."

He nodded.

"And…you could do it on recycled paper," I said quietly. "I mean to go with our new green theme. You could re-launch the company as being green. It would be a good start up company for that launch."

"I'll get Fenton on it," he nodded. "Get your father to give Fenton a call."

"Are you sure," she blinked.

"I'm not making any promises, but we'll sure look into it. We do want to diversify. And Stephanie is right; it would be an excellent way to launch our green campaign."

"I'll tell Daddy," she nodded. "Okay, now that's out of the way. I'm curious about something."

"What," Ranger asked.

"This girl…why was she so reclusive? I mean she's gorgeous according to every picture I've seen. She was nice. People liked her. Why was she reclusive?"

"That's the sixty-four thousand dollar question," I said with a nod.

She leaned over the table, "I've been thinking…"

"Here's Tigger," Gabe said lightly as the large character joined us by wrapping his arms around me.

I giggled. "You're tickling Tigger."

Ranger grabbed the camera with a grin and began snapping pictures. Tigger picked up my left hand, and pretended to weep. He glared at Ranger.

"Dude…I got there first," Ranger shook his head. "And keep the paws off. I don't share."

Tigger pouted and then hugged him anyway. He blinked at Padma's belly and pointed at Gabe in accusation. Gabe preened for him and we got a great picture with Tigger and both Gabe and Padma. Tigger moved on after a few moments and we went on to the buffet and our next plate.

I filled up on garlic redskin smashed potatoes, broccoli, mac and cheese and some fire roasted prime rib. Ranger had vegetables of various types and roasted turkey. Padma had wild mushroom and chicken pasta with bail asiago cream sauce. Gabe rounded us out with salmon and vegetables. Gosh those guys eat healthy.

We finished those plates with little conversation and went for dessert. At least some of us did. Ranger got shrimp and some cheese. Gabe at least picked up a slice of key lime pie. Padma went for the Tiramisu. I got chocolate chip cookies, brownies and be-still-my-heart pineapple upside down cake.

I was in heaven.

I pushed the plate away with half my dessert left with a groan. "I've become such a friggin light weight."

Ranger smiled and rubbed my back. "Padma, what were you saying about Sandy."

"Well…I've been in the business since I was sixteen and I've seen girls get that haunted look and draw back from people before. Sometimes it's because of drugs, but usually it's because they've been raped."

"Raped," Ranger blinked.

"Yea…there are things that don't fit though," she frowned thoughtfully toying with the remaining dessert on my plate. "You said there were two donors, right?"

"Right," he nodded.

"If he's a repeat rapist… What if she told him she was going to report him or something like that?"

"He might kill her."

"That makes sense in a way," I said quietly. "Jake bought the ring. He was ready to commit to Sandy. If she had any kind of inkling where his head was and she felt the same way…and I think she did, she'd do what she could to get away from this person."

"But she was clearly afraid of him," Padma said leaning closer. "It almost has to be someone in authority or someone bigger and scary."

"I think it's time to start eliminating suspects," Ranger said seriously. "We can eliminate all the women. We can eliminate men of small stature. We can eliminate the old."

"That leaves young men or men in positions of authority."

"Who's her direct supervisor," Gabe asked.

"Ralph Watkins," Ranger said.

"We should talk to him," he said.

"He's a waste of your time," Padma smiled.

"Why," Ranger frowned.

"He's gay," she laughed. "I mean he's flaming gay."

"Could it be a front?"

"My gaydar isn't that far off. I'm telling you this guy is completely comfortable with who he is. He's great. You'd love him Steph. He's a shoe guy."

"Oh man," I sighed.

"Well…who's his boss," Gabe rolled his eyes.

"We'll have to find out," Ranger said quietly. "I need coffee."

The waitress appeared at our table, "did you say you needed coffee sir?"

"Please," he nodded, "Black please."

"Sure," she agreed, "Anyone else?"

"Yea," Gabe nodded. "Padma…do you need anything else?"

"God no," she groaned and sat back rubbing her belly.

He laughed.

"Babe," Ranger's brow went up.

"I'm good," I smiled.

"Gabe, are you sure that monitors are really going to be your thing?"

Gabe laughed, "Yea, it pretty much is. I know it seems boring and mundane, but there's something about it…finding a way to be the most effective or something that just makes me think. It reminds me of being on post duty," he shrugged. "I never mind stakeouts either. It's the same thing. You're always just looking for that thing that's slightly off, you know."

"It's a challenge to you," he said.

"Yea," he nodded. "Being the most effective is my goal. I'm always trying to perfect the way we scan the locations we monitor visually for better ways."

"As long as you're happy," Ranger shook his head. "What about you Padma? What's the shelf life for a model?"

She laughed, "Not that long. Especially lingerie models," she winced. "My shelf life is about done. I'm thinking about going back to school and getting involved in something else. But I'm not really sure what."

"Are you thinking about taking some time after the baby is born," I said with a smile.

"Yea, I already told Natalie that Henry needed his mommy till he was at least six months old. If something big comes up, I'll take the time and take him with me. But…I'd like some time."

"I love that name," I sighed.

"Have you guys thought about names," Gabe asked Ranger.

"No," Ranger laughed. "Stephanie is only about seven weeks pregnant. It's hard to think about names."

"I don't want Edna, Ellen, Helen, or Louisa or any other family name for her," I sighed. "I want her to have her own identity. She needs to be able to fit into her own mold and not some antiquated burg mold."

"SHE will have a hard time doing that locked in her room till she's forty," Ranger said calmly. "Babe…it could be a boy."

"Right," I rolled my eyes. "God wouldn't go that easy on you Ric. You must atone for your sins."

"Babe…we should be prepared with boy names," he said patiently.

"Do you have any ideas," I asked sweetly.

"How about Sam," he asked.

"Fine," I nodded. "If it's a boy, we'll name him Sam."

His eyes narrowed as he studied me, "you're that sure it's a girl or you really like the name Sam?"

"Both," I smiled up at him.

"Shit," he groaned.

"Dude…her theory is a good one. I'm really glad I wasn't the hound dog you were in my youth. There is totally a downside or two to having a hot wife."

"Tell me about it," Ranger said darkly. "For instance, all of your unattached friends flirt with her."

"Yea," Gabe growled. "And…there's a good chance that any daughters you have will be smokin hot."

Ranger groaned.

"I'm glad we're having a boy," Gabe sighed and looked adoringly at his wife.

"We'll have other babies," Padma said softly.

Gabe's face fell. "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Will the tower be big enough for my daughter too," Gabe asked Ranger.

"We'll build an addition. It will make Fort Knox look like the local Seven Eleven."

"Sweet," Gabe sighed.

"Yea…sweet," Ranger raised a brow at me.

I just smiled.


	12. TTA22 12 Magic at the Magic Kingdom

Thank you to everyone for reading. This is where my struggle begins. Janet's stuff belongs to her and I make nothing from it. I also don't make anything off my stuff. Sad, isn't it?

* * *

We went to the middle of Main Street toward the Castle where we'd agreed to meet after dinner and we all sort of converged there at the same time.

Jess and Manuel hurried toward us from Main Street holding hands. "Okay, where to first," she asked breathlessly when they arrived. The first thing I noticed was that they were holding hands; the second thing...her shirt was on backwards. Hmmm!

"Steph," Ranger turned to me. "You've been studying that map for days. Where do we go first?"

I raised a brow at Manuel and he grinned at me. Yea, they were enemies all right. Disney World really was the happiest place on earth and it was clearly magic. I shook my head and met Ranger's raised brow. "Oh. We go left toward Adventureland. The first ride is on the _**Jungle Cruise**_. Then after that is _**Pirates of the Caribbean**_."

"Oh boy," Cal grinned. "I want to ride the Pirate ride."

"You will big guy," Natalie said with a laugh. "We'll do the _**Jungle Cruise**_ and then the Pirates okay?"

"Okay," he sighed.

She grinned, "Lead on Stephanie."

"Will do," I laughed and headed back to the left. I leaned over as Manuel and Jess got even with us. "Er…Jess."

"Yea," she smiled at me.

"Your shirt is on backwards," I said sweetly.

"Shit," she groaned and hit Manuel. "You let me out of the room like that."

"My mind wasn't really on your clothes," he said with a leer.

"Men," she rolled her eyes. "I'll catch up." She ran toward a ladies room.

"We'll catch up," Manuel grinned and went after her.

As we wandered we found out that it was Extra Magic Hours night in the Magic Kingdom so we went to the guys giving out the bracelets. The bracelet let us stay in the park till 2AM that night. I wasn't sure we'd all be up to it, but we'd give it a shot. The lines were all pretty short. It was Sunday and I guess a lot of people had already left or were in other areas of the park. Our line at the _**Jungle Cruise**_ was only about fifteen minutes long. As we stood in line we read all the warnings (that were really jokes) for instance there was a menu with outlandish things on it that all tasted like chicken...including chickens. There was a tiger warning and a few other things as well.

We were fortunate that all of us were loaded onto the same boat with one other group of teenagers with us. The teenagers looked at us a little wide-eyed. I still say it was mainly Cal in the Donald Duck shirt with the flaming skull tattooed on his head, but Ranger said it was the hot women. Right… No, I didn't believe him either.

Our captain's name was Rebecca. She told us to make sure the boat was complete balanced so when it sank it would go down evenly and they'd have an easier time finding it later. She said it with a straight face too. I was impressed. I was even more impressed that she didn't go into the Rangeman Trance. That could be because they were wearing character shirts though. It sort of takes the sexiness out, but it adds a certain sexiness back in. It made me hot.

We passed some alligators or crocodiles and she told us that you can tell the alligators from the crocs because the crocs are plastic and the alligators are Plexiglas. Hmmmm

She showed us guys climbing a totem with a Rhino beneath and his horn about to do the butt stuff to the guy closest to the bottom. I shuddered in fear, but Ranger just laughed and hugged me to him. She showed us some hippos and headhunters and the best part of it all…the back side of water. That's right, you heard me, the back side of water. I didn't want to tell her that I'd already seen the back side of water when Ranger and I went to the falls in Belize. Quite frankly, the back side of water at Disney was nice, but it was much more spectacular in Belize at Big Rock Falls.

We exited the boat carefully and walked toward the park with everyone giggling over the silly jokes and how she'd made fun of Tank the entire time we were on the boat. It was pretty cool though.

We went next to _**Pirates of the Caribbean**_ and once again, there was virtually no line. Each of the boats held fifteen passengers so we were able to get on all together, even though we didn't get to sit with our partner necessarily. I still got Ranger so I was okay. There was a small water slide type thing and the blaring of music. 'Yo ho Yo ho a pirates life for me'.

We all excitedly pointed out Johnny Depp in the three locations we found him on the ride. And by the end, we were all singing…even Ranger…'yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me'. We loved it so much that we ran around to the entrance and rode it a second time. Yea, there's nothing funnier than a bunch of guys towering over six feet laughing manically to get on a Disney ride. I swear to God if they do the same thing on _**It's a Small World**_ I'll pee myself.

When we exited the second time we were breathless but gleeful.

"Okay Steph," Tank grinned in excitement. "Where do we go now?"

"Most of us can ride _**Big Thunder Mountain Railroad**_ and or _**Splash Mountain**_. I know Padma can't ride Big Mountain, we'll have to check about _**Splash Mountain**_, but I'm guessing no. So…you guys ride it and us pregnant chicks will find a piece of bench and a Mickey Bar and wait for you."

They blinked at me in unison. "You can't go with us," Mitch said forlornly.

"Sorry honey, but those two rides say that pregnant women and people with heart problems need to skip them. We'll shop. We'll eat junk. We'll be fine. You guys go on."

"Shop," Padma said with bright eyes.

"Come with me," I said and linked my arm through hers and pulled her toward some shops.

"Babe," Ranger called out.

I stopped and turned, "yes honey?"

"I love you."

I grinned, "I love you too. Go ride the rides."

"Thank you," he grinned and ran off to join the others.

"Men are so cute," Padma grinned.

"I know," I laughed. We bought some shorts and stuff and had them sent to our resort…or in our case The Contemporary. We bought stuff for everyone since Padma still had the size list with her. Then we went to the pin store and shopped there until we figured they'd be done. We spent a lot of money. We found everyone as we walked toward the mountains and they were walking toward us. They were soaked.

"Boy…I'm really sorry to have missed that ride," Padma said wide-eyed.

"Babe…you didn't mention we'd get wet at _**Splash Mountain**_," Ranger said pointedly as he squeezed the water from his tee shirt.

"Er…only every third car gets that wet," I bit my lip to keep from laughing hysterically at them. "I guess…that was you." That was as long as I could hold it in."

"You weren't one of the evil one's shooting us from the bridge were you," Brian asked mopping his wet face with his hand.

"No…but believe me if we'd known we could, we would have…right Padma?"

"Oh hell yea," she giggled.

"I can see they feel our pain," Gabe said dryly. That was the only part of him that was. We walked a little farther to the _**Hall of Presidents**_. Lula declared that she needed something sedate. The _**Hall of Presidents**_ is really an animatronics story about the Revolutionary war. It ends with all the presidents; include Barack Obama standing for introductions at the end and a few say a few words. Honestly, I never wanted to be president, but that just about convinced me to give it a try. Our big former Army guys got really misty during that. Okay…I cried too.

After that we headed for the _**Haunted Mansion**_. This line was a little bit longer, but it was still not bad. We were entertained by the headstones in the cemetery as we waited in line. In one of them the face seemed to follow you and move. The epitaphs were funny too like 'dear departed brother Dave. He chased a bear into a cave', 'Rest in peace cousin Huet, we all know you didn't do it', or my favorite 'Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head'.

After a few moments our line moved forward. The unsmiling attendant herded us into an oddly shaped room and then the lights flashed off. There is a lightening flash and the walls seem to get longer and longer and the paintings change from staid Victorian to tales of terror including one man straddling the mouth of a crocodile and another standing on the head of another in quick sand. The disembodied voice challenged us by saying, 'Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis. Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination? And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows, and no doors. Which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out! Of course, there's always my way.' Then he told us 'actually, we have 999 happy haunts here, but there's room for a thousand…any volunteers? If you insist on lagging behind, you may not need to volunteer.' I was giggling like crazy, but I didn't let go of Ranger's arm. There was no chance of that.

Then a door opened on the other side and we filed toward the moving loading station onto our _doom_ buggies two at a time. Ranger and I had already ridden this ride so we knew what to expect. We weren't even taken aback when our ghost hitchhiker joined us. Ranger even pretended to strangle him since he was a little too close to me. Tank and Lula just stared at their hitchhiker wide-eyed. I don't think they particularly enjoyed it.

We left that ride and headed for Fantasyland.

"Are you going to make us ride _**It's a Small World**_," Cal raised a brow at me. I studied his face. His mouth said one thing, but his eyes pleaded with me to demand everyone ride it. It was all I could do not to laugh.

"I think, Cal, that you guys owe Padma and me a nice quiet boat ride. We did step aside sweetly so you could ride two of the mountains and I have a feeling we're going to have to do it again when we get to _**Space Mountain**_. The least you can all do is go on this ride with us."

"Yea," Padma proclaimed crossing her arms and glaring at them.

They shuffled off to the line grumbling but every single one of them turned around and winked at us. Big Army men, you never know what they're going to do.

I love that ride. It's cheery. I don't think I could ride it a million times in a row without wanting to grab an automatic weapon and open fire, but I love it in doses. I sang along as we went, "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a small, small world." By the end of the ride through the colorful doll filled attraction we were all singing it…but Ranger. He crossed his arms and firmly declared he was not going to do it. So…we ganged up on him and took a billion pictures of him pouting through the rest of the ride as we sang along. Payback is a mother.

By the time we exited that ride it was almost ten thirty and I admit it, I was getting a little tired. I thought I could maybe handle one more thing and the main thing I wanted to do was _**Mickey's Philharmagic**_. I pleaded for about three seconds and we all walked into the building and almost directly into the auditorium.

The attraction is a 3-D experience with music featuring mainly Donald Duck. A lot of other characters make an appearance, but Donald is the main guy. In the end though, he turns the baton over to Mickey to conduct the orchestra and things are all better…sort of. You have to see it to believe it.

When we left the theater I was about pooped. "Ranger…"

He stopped and hugged me to him, "let's go back."

"How did you know what I was going to say?"

"I know you Babe," he smiled. "Hey Mitch," he called to the nearest one of us.

"Yea," Mitch grinned from Ali's side.

"We're heading back. Steph's done."

"Oh sure…sorry Steph, we weren't thinking. You've got to take care of yourself. Padma," he called.

"Yea," she turned.

"Are you tried too?"

"No, I'm good. I had a nap this afternoon and Steph didn't."

"Okay," he nodded. He leaned over and kissed my head. "Get some rest." He clapped Ranger on the shoulder and hurried off to join the others.

I grinned watching them run off happily.

"You really like these people, don't you?"

"Yea," I nodded. "I really do. It's the first time in my life that I feel completely safe with everyone I am close to. You know what I mean," I smiled as his fingers threaded through mine. "I trust everyone. Nobody here judges me. They love me as I am. I feel the same way about them. It's a good feeling."

"It's what you deserve in life Babe," he said softly and kissed my head.

"Thank you," I smiled. "It's a beautiful night." I took a deep breath. "I'm so happy Ric. I mean really happy. I'm madly in love with my husband. We're expecting a baby. I had no idea I could have this much happiness inside of me."

He swallowed, "I'll do my best to keep you that happy for the rest of your life."

"You won't have to try that hard," I assured him.

We walked lazily through the park smiling at the families with children. It was amazing to see the children still up at that hour. And it was more amazing that I was so tired. Ric leaned over and kissed my head, "they had a nap." Him and that damn ESP. Thank God for it.

We paused at the front of the park and sat on a bench for a while and watched. I completely understood where Sandy was coming from. This was a totally surreal experience. I knew why she loved it there. I needed to know why she was afraid of it. I needed to clean it up for her and for everyone. It was an incredible place. It was filled with incredible people. One bad apple couldn't be what spoiled the whole thing.

Finally I smiled up at my husband, "okay, I'm better. Let's keep going."

"Do you want to walk or ride?"

"Walk please," I smiled.

We strolled lazily hand in hand along the sidewalk to the hotel. We deftly avoided other walkers and strollers and busses and cars as we walked across the street. The sky was filled with stars and the monorail zoomed above us. Sleepy happy people were going back to their rooms to dream Mickey Mouse dreams and to wake refreshed for another day of magic. That would be happening to us too if it wasn't for this thing that I have.

"Babe," Ranger shook his head with a smile.

"How do you do that," I sighed.

"I can feel your body tense," he said softly. "I'm very in tuned to you."

"If I had not seen her…"

"Babe…if you hadn't seen her it would have been a very long time before her body was found and any evidence that might have been collected may have no longer been viable. This was meant to be. It was fate. You can't control fate."

"I can't control much," I said with a wry smile.

"Maybe not," he agreed. "But you handle whatever is thrown at you with grace."

"You're just saying that because you love me," I laughed.

"And because it's true," he said using his pass card to get into our building. We stepped right onto the elevator and went up to the top floor.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, "I love you Ric. I mean I really, really love you."

"I know Stephanie," he said nuzzling into my curls. "And I really, really love you."

I tilted my head up and met his seeking mouth. As always just the touch of his lips was enough to make me breathless. I knew now that he was human. He wasn't a superhero. He was a man. He was a man who did the best he could to be the best person that he could. He made hard choices. He did hard things. He made the world better day by day. And he loved me. He also made me weak in the knees in a way that nobody else in the world ever could or ever would. He may not be a superhero. But he was my hero and he always would be.

When the elevator doors opened, he swung me up in his arms and strode down the hall still kissing me. He has some kind of radar or sonar or something. If he was looking where he was going, I didn't see it.

He put me down on the bed and dropped over me holding his body off of mine with the strength of his arms. His lips brushed over mine again and then over my face tasting and remembering. Then they skimmed my neck and bare shoulders. With his teeth he bent and tugged the tank top up and with his teeth he pushed down the barely there bra so his lips could skim my nipples. Even barely touching me, I was so aroused I was vibrating. He had that power over me. He sat back on his knees straddling me and unbuttoned my shorts and tugged them down along with my panties and tossed them aside. Then he pulled my shirt over my head and carefully removed my bra.

When I looked at him in amusement, he just grinned, "I really like that one."

So…lingerie is a turn on to the Sizzlin king. He moved back over me and skimmed back over my body with his lips. This night there were no promises of sky rocketing orgasms. He never had to promise me something he was sure to deliver anyway.

After a few moments of torture he groaned, "I can't wait." He quickly shed his clothes and settled back over me and sank into me slowly with a groan of completion when he was fully sheathed inside of me. "This is where I want to be forever," he whispered.

"Quit work and stay there," I said wrapping my legs around him.

"You wouldn't care," he smiled.

"Not at all," I admitted.

"Someday I'll take you up on that," he said as his hips shifted.

I gasped at the sensation, "that's okay. You always come through with your promises of someday."

He smiled and lowered his mouth to mine and we were lost in each other…again.


	13. TTA22 13 Bruise Patterns

She does. I don't. Sorry it's late. Yesterday was the last day of the month and the longest day of my month. RL has me running, but I'm writing again and we will finish this thing. Thank you to anyone who is reading for their patience.

* * *

Even though it had been a weird morning on the previous day Ranger made arrangements with the resort staff to serve breakfast to us yet again. As uncomfortable as moments of it had been, it had been the light point in the day and it was what made the day seem not so harsh. The murder of that young woman so callously, when she had so much promise and so much to look forward to, was devastating to all of us. Not only that, but since she was from Trenton, she was one of our own. We wanted to destroy who had done it. We wanted to hurt them as they had hurt her.

Ranger and I were early for the morning meeting for a change and to our surprise; we weren't even the first one's there. Others were already there fixing plates or eating breakfast and chatting. Some were chatting about their experiences in the park and others were discussing the case.

I made a plate and dropped to my seat beside Natalie and smiled, "everyone's here early today."

"I think it's the breakfast possibility," she admitted with a smile. "We like breakfast."

"Who doesn't," I agreed.

"They're already knee deep into the case," she gestured toward the table where Manuel, Jess, Ali and Mitch were sitting.

"Do they have new information," I asked.

She glanced over at Cal.

Cal smiled, "not exactly, they're trying to come up with other plans of attack. We're long past the first 48 hours Steph and we all know the likelihood of catching the killer is diminishing with each passing hour. We're all tossing around other ideas to see if we're missing anything."

"That's a good plan," I nodded. "I was thinking that if we had no real luck with her phone messages we might try MySpace or Facebook. They're pretty popular sites, especially with a certain age group. Maybe we'll find something of interest there."

"Good idea," he nodded.

"Where's Brian?"

"He's already at the personnel office," Natalie nodded as Ranger joined us. "He thought if he got there early he could get a list of possible other rape victims and we could start the search engines on that this morning. He said you wanted to find victim zero."

"Right," Ranger nodded. "If it doesn't give us a name, it will give us an idea of how long this particular perpetrator has been victimizing women."

I sat back with a frown.

"What's wrong Babe," Ranger asked.

"I think I liked the conversation yesterday better," I shook my head with a smile.

He laughed, "Yea…well, I'm sure it will come back any moment now."

But it didn't. They were in the mode. Everyone was frustrated that we weren't farther along. It's weird for us too. Usually when we're trying to find a killer, they keep throwing new evidence at us by trying to kill us. This guy wasn't doing that. Not only wasn't he trying to kill us, he was lying low. That worried us. If he was lying low, we might not catch him. If there's one thing our team hates, its unsolved cases.

After breakfast Ranger got up in the middle of the room and cleared his throat. Immediately all eyes were on him. Everyone wanted to solve this thing.

"Brian is at the personnel office and should be back here momentarily," he said quietly. "We're going to have Natalie, Lula, and Padma do the searches when he gets back with a list of names. As each name is confirmed as a possibility, we'll send one of the ladies and either Woody, Gabe or Mitch out with them to interview the girl if it's possible. Does everyone know what questions to ask?"

They all nodded.

"Remember, we're not only looking for victim zero…we're looking for the perp. As possible perpetrators are identified, turn that information over to Brian so he can get information on the possible unsub so we can run a search on them. I can't tell you how important this is. I can tell by everyone's somber mood this morning that you realize we're running out of daylight. We've passed the first 48 and our perp is laying low. We could be in real trouble here if we don't get some new information soon."

"Kate, I understand you have some new information regarding Sandy's body?"

"Yes," she got to her feet. "We suspected there might be some latent bruising and we were rewarded by waiting to send her body to Trenton. Oh…she's on her way now and they're planning to cremate her and have a memorial service tonight. There were quite a few bruises when it came down to it. There were bruises on her ankles and inner thighs and wrists that are suggestive of rape. I spoke to Jake Freeman and he said that he didn't have her by the ankles at any time during their sexual encounters. We weren't able to raise any prints, but we do have a couple of good hand size analyzers to go with. The weird part…she died of strangulation, but I don't think it was the rapist who strangled her."

Ranger's eyebrow went up, "Why is that?"

"Because we know she was strangled and the hand prints on her neck were smaller…significantly smaller. Also, it appeared to me and the ME that the perp's hands were too small and they had switched to something else at some point like a belt or sash or pantyhose or something like that."

"Do you think she may have been raped by multiple men then," Ranger frowned.

"I suppose it's possible that one of the perpetrators could have used a condom," she said quietly. "We didn't find any latex powder, but it's still possible. She'd been dead for several hours when you discovered her."

"So at this point, we're looking for either two doers working in tandem or a rapist and a separate murderer," Ranger said thoughtfully.

She nodded, "that's my best analysis of the evidence on hand."

"Thank you Kate," he nodded and made a note on his yellow legal pad. "Do you have anything else?"

"That's it for me today."

"Manuel…has our evidence yielded anything new?"

He got to his feet, "it's something small, but your rapist has slow swimmers."

"Slow swimmers," Ranger said in amusement.

"You know…sperm," he grinned. "Also, there was something a little odd about his enzymes so I ran it again and I'd say he also has a liver problem. If DNA didn't tell us when we caught him, we'd have a good idea based on other things."

"So what will this liver problem do to our perp?"

"He's either got a medical condition or he could be an alcoholic."

Ranger nodded, "anything else Manuel?"

"No, but I'm still processing evidence. Kate will be with me today in the lab."

"Thank you," he nodded. "Okay," he waved toward Manuel's table, "I saw you guys huddled this morning. Did you come up with anything?"

Ali nodded and stood up, "we're going to do a voice analysis on the guy's voice in her voice mail. I think we can get an age on him if we try. None of the messages are overtly threatening, but a voice analysis can give us some idea on whether threat is intended."

"Good," he nodded. "Stephanie suggested that you see if she's got a Facebook or MySpace account as well."

Ali nodded enthusiastically, "good idea."

"Maybe we can get an idea from that."

"I'm on it," she nodded and sat back down.

Brian entered the room as she sat back down.

"Good, you're back, what did you learn," Ranger asked.

"I learned that people aren't as good at giving notice as they should be," he said seriously. "Our first run gave us almost 1000 women who'd quit without notice in the last 2 years….since Sandy's been at Disney. From that, we narrowed it to girls who'd worked at the Magic Kingdom and cut the list down to a little over a 100. Then we narrowed it down to a reasonable age group and we've gotten it down to 63," he winced. "I've arranged the list in order of most likely beginning with girls who worked in the entertainment area of the park. We're still looking at more than twenty possibilities."

"Our guy may have gotten around," Ranger sighed.

"Yea," Brian nodded, "he may have."

"Okay, we'll search most likely and then expand the search if we think it's a good idea. Brian why don't you help Lula, Natalie and Padma with the searches," he nodded.

Brian nodded and took his seat.

"Cal, what was the result of our phone booth research yesterday," he asked.

"They were pretty much clean. You have to hand it to Disney; they do a good job of keeping things clean."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We did learn something that was kind of interesting though."

"What was that," Ranger asked.

"All of the phones of interest were on major thoroughfares of the park. None of them were in little niches or anything like that. I'd be willing to guess our perp is a little closet thrill seeker. He wanted to get caught."

"Was he watching her when he called for her reaction?"

"Unlikely," Brian interrupted. "The cast is not allowed to have their cell phones on them in the park when they're on duty."

"Good to know," Ranger nodded.

"He could have been watching her though," Cal grinned. "All of the calls were made at times he was certain he'd get her voice mail. As a matter of fact, most occurred when she was on stage," he nodded in satisfaction.

"Oh now that's interesting," Ranger nodded and met my gaze.

I smiled up at him. "He doesn't want to talk to her."

"Why not," Ranger raised a brow.

"Many rapists are antisocial," Kate shrugged. "Maybe he wants to give the illusion of being social without actually being social."

I sat up straighter, "I think you're on to something there Kate."

"Yea," she pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Yea," I nodded. "I mean like Morty…"

"He was afraid of women," Woody frowned.

"No he wasn't," I shook my head with a smile, "he just gave off that impression because that was the illusion he was trying to create. He was actually very comfortable with women as his association with Marilyn taught us."

"True," Tank nodded.

"So maybe our guy is someone who appears very like-able and social on the external, but is a seething mass of contradiction on the inside," I frowned thoughtfully. "He either works at Disney or is a frequent guest. He's got big hands…the rapist does anyway, and he's got a little swimmer problem. He's likely to be an alcoholic. That narrows the search."

"Right," Manuel rolled his eyes.

I grinned, "Come up with a way to narrow it more then."

"I'll work on it," he nodded.

"Tank, Cal, Jess and Ali, I want you guys to start interviewing all of Sandy's supervisors up the food chain till you can reasonably assess that person is unlikely to have interacted with her."

They nodded.

"Connie, stick with Manuel and Kate," he said. "Stephanie…we're going to the security office to have a little chat with Jack Margolis."

"I've been wondering when we were going to do that," I smiled.

"Wonder no more," he said. "Let's do this thing."

An hour later we were in Jack Margolis' office and he looked tired. He looked very tired.

"Have you learned anything," he asked.

"We have," Ranger nodded. "Jack…I'd like to conduct this interview in two parts. The first part is as a viable suspect, the second part as the Security Manager. Can you do that?"

He nodded, "go ahead."

"How well did you know Sandy?"

"Not well. Out of makeup and costume, I don't know that I'd recognize her as an employee. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't speak to her in costume, I would have. But out of costume, I wouldn't know her. The hair, costume and makeup do a lot to change a person's appearance."

"So you haven't had any significant run-ins with her, she hasn't filed any complaints to or against you?"

"She hasn't filed any against me. If she'd filed a complaint about someone else in the cast, it's unlikely I would have taken the complaint. I don't do that. We have people who do that. If it warranted investigation beyond a warning then I would have become involved and I haven't been involved."

"Do you have a file on her?"

"I do have a file on her," he agreed and pushed the file across the desk. "She had a complaint filed against her by a co-worker and the complaint was dropped."

"Who filed the complaint?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I have my people cross-referencing the remaining files to see if we can figure it out."

"It says the complaint was that Sandy had threatened this person?"

"Right," he nodded. "Apparently it wasn't a physical threat or that would have been notated."

"You'll let us know when you find something?"

"Of course," he agreed. "Look, I appreciate that you have to interview me in this manner. It has gotten out that she was raped and my staff is being called into the park several times a day now to both alleviate fears and to take statements. I'll pass those statements on to you as soon as they're processed. "What are the odds that you can put someone in our office here to save a step? Maybe something we're learning will be the piece that breaks it open."

"That's a good idea," Ranger nodded. "I'll get…Connie," he raised a brow at me and I nodded, "over here within the hour."

"Thank you," he nodded.

"You're right that she was raped. At this point we believe that she was raped by one person and murdered by another person."

"Oh shit," he groaned and his head went down.

"Any information that you can give us will be helpful."

"Of course," he nodded.

"When I send Connie over, I'd like to send someone else to go through your complaints files. We don't believe that Sandy was our rapist's first victim. We're trying to find victim zero."

"Of course," he nodded.

"I can stay," I suggested.

"Good," Ranger agreed. "Jack, can you give me a walking tour of where Sandy would be on the grounds both in front of the crowd and behind the scenes."

"Of course," he nodded.

"Okay," Ranger nodded.

Jack pushed a button, "Julie, I need all the complaint files by women in the Magic Kingdom in the last two years taken to Stephanie Manoso in my conference room as soon as possible. Have they finished sorting them?"

"We're almost done," Julie's disembodied voice answered, "but I can certainly get her started."

"Great," he nodded. "Also, a Connie…"

"Risolli," I supplied.

"Connie Risolli from Rangeman will be here shortly to go through the witness statements and help with sorting those."

"Thank goodness," she sighed.

"Come on Ranger," Jack said getting to his feet, "we'll drop Stephanie off in my conference room and we'll go on tour."

Hours later I had gone through hundreds of complaint files and found nothing. When I expressed that to Julie, she told me that those were files from cast members to cast members. They were gathering files with complaints from cast to guest and vice-versa. I had my first epiphany then. Our rapist wasn't a member of the cast, but maybe he had been at one point. Maybe, he'd never been a member of the cast. If that was the case, our search had to get wider. And that would make it about a million times more difficult.

I left their offices at four and promised to return the next day and look over the new files they'd gathered. I headed straight for our conference room and the afternoon meeting. I was starving too so I stopped at the Contemporary's quick service restaurant, Contempo Café, and grabbed a cheeseburger and fries as I went.

I dropped to my spot and opened my food.

"You're a cruel woman," Natalie sighed as I ate a fry.

"I didn't get lunch," I groaned.

"I probably shouldn't tell you that I had steak then," she grinned.

"You're mean," I sighed and contemplated my cheeseburger before shrugging and taking another bite.

Ranger walked purposefully into the room and dropped his clipboard on the table in front of me. "Is everybody here?"

I nodded up at him.

"Good, I had an interesting walk around the park with Jack Margolis. I learned a couple of things. Would anyone like to guess what I learned?

I grinned and raised my hand.

"Stephanie," he raised a brow.

"Our rapist isn't a cast member," I said.

He blinked at me in surprise, "that's right. I don't think he is."

"But he's here a lot and he's got a way to get to know whoever he's after," I added.

"Is your spidey sense kicking in," Mitch grinned.

"Sadly no," I sighed. "This was normal police work."

Ranger laughed, "Good job. Brian, what did your team come up with?"

"We have a couple of girls we couldn't interview that are possibly ground zero."

"Why couldn't we interview them?"

"They're deceased," he said grimly.

Ranger's face changed, "due to what circumstances?"

"Suicide," he said grimly.

Ranger sighed, "Do they have family or friends we can interview?"

"We're working on that now."

"Good," he nodded grimly. "Ali…have you got anything?"

"We did her Facebook today and there wasn't anything unusual. We'll work on her MySpace tomorrow. We did finish the voice analysis of our rapist."

"What did you learn?"

"He's in his mid to late twenties, he was drunk during a couple of the calls, he was menacing and his voice became more nervous and menacing as the calls went on."

"He was getting anxious," I asked with a frown.

"I think so," she nodded.

"Does anyone else have anything," Ranger asked. When nobody stepped up he nodded, "all right I hear we're going dancing tonight at Atlantic Dance. Let's have a good relaxing evening and we'll hit back here tomorrow morning early at 0700 and keep at this thing. Dismissed," he said and leaned over the table to meet my eyes. "Are you sure it wasn't a tingle?"

"I wish it had been," I admitted. "But so far, I've only had two."

"I only know about the first one," he frowned.

"The second one was minor, but believe me when I tell you…I'll be checking it out further."

"We need something here Stephanie."

"I know. I know."

"Come on, let's get ready for dinner. Who are we dining with tonight?"

"Woody and Connie," I said.

"Okay," he smiled. "Come on Babe, let's go take a shower."

"Are we going to conserve water?"

"I was thinking we might," he said lecherously.

"I like the way you think."


	14. TTA22 14 Woody Connie Big River Grille

JE created characters that are sometimes fun to toy with, easy to manipulate (sorry Ranger) and a joy to explore. I find that if I spice it up with a couple of characters of my own, I like it even more. I will someday return them to her unharmed, but for now I tease and torture and don't earn a red cent off of her creation.

* * *

After a long, hot shower and some incredible sex of the global warming variety, I dressed to head out for dinner with Connie and Woody at the Boardwalk. We were eating at the Big River Grille and Brewery and then we'd meet our friends at the Atlantic Dance Hall for some frivolity.

I'll be honest; the idea of dancing the night away tonight isn't really doing it for me. I'm getting tired. It's been pretty much go, go, go and I'm a pregnant. I'm not getting nearly enough rest and I could use a little nap. I don't think I'm going to get one any time soon either, so I'm planning on seducing my husband into leaving early and returning to the room for some fun of our own and some much needed sleep. We'll see how that goes.

We met Connie and Woody at the elevator. You know, it's kind of surprising, but they seem like they've been together for a long while. I can't believe Connie would have kept any secrets from me, but I'm bound and determined to get to the bottom of my suspicions tonight.

We took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and then on to EPCOT and then walked to the Boardwalk from there. It was a nice evening and the crowds seemed mild. As we walked we chatted about the parks and what a good idea it had been for Ranger to bring me there for our honeymoon. Yea, it had been a good idea. But my damn tingles were what was making it not a great idea…so far.

We were shown to a table pretty quickly and sat down with the menu. I could smell the beer in the air and the three of them could smell it too.

"It smells so good in here," Ranger grinned at me.

"You're a heartless bastard," I sighed. "Get me some water please."

"They ordered beer and they got appetizers, but I didn't. Ranger looked at me funny, but I'd just eaten the cheeseburger and fries. I may eat a lot, but I'm not bottomless.

"Woody how did you and Ranger meet, anyway?"

He laughed, "Actually that's a funny story."

"That sort of depends on your point of view," Ranger admitted.

"Now I really want to know," I grinned.

"We were in Afghanistan, but we weren't with the same unit. I'm not a Ranger, I'm a Seal."

"Really," I said in surprise.

"Really," he nodded.

"Anyway, we were there doing an extraction and they were there taking care of business. My team had been informed that all the friendlies were out of the area, so we went in guns blazing to this camp to extract our prison of war…who just happened to be a big Army General."

"And…"

"We were already there," Ranger shrugged.

"You had the general?"

"Oh yea," he nodded.

"So it ended up that Ranger and I are barrel to barrel against each other's heads and neither of us was in our usual uniform, but that was common when you were doing deep cover shit. Anyway, he says to me, 'what the hell do you want?'" He laughed, "I couldn't believe it. He spoke perfect English."

"Isn't that ironic," Ranger shook his head and downed his beer.

"I identified myself and he tried to…"

"And then this lunatic," Ranger waved his beer bottle toward Woody, "starts asking me friggin sports questions."

I laughed, "I bet you got far with that."

"Yea," Woody nodded in amusement, "Ranger doesn't know shit about sports."

"So how'd you clear it up," Connie asked.

"Ranger does know shit about American authors," Woody shrugged. "We discovered a shared passion for Stephen King and we worked it out from there. We got our general. They got the capture of the dissidents. It was all good."

"Right," Ranger rolled his eyes and leaned back as they put the appetizers down in front of them.

"And what about you two," I leaned on my hands and grinned and Connie. "How did you two meet?"

"At the bonds office, of course," Connie shrugged.

Woody nodded and took a spoonful of his beer cheese soup.

"I kind of figured that," I said with a slight smile. "But this is what I don't get, you guys act like you've been together for a really long time. You know…like longer than Ranger and I and yet…we all know you've only been together for less than a year."

Connie turned red and concentrated on her chicken nachos.

Ranger grinned over his dinner salad and focused on Woody. "Come on Woodman…what's the deal?"

He groaned and looked over at Connie. She nodded and he turned back to us, "we've been seeing each other for almost three years…off and on."

"Three years," I blinked at her. "Oh my God…this is Greg?"

Woody groaned.

"Greg Woodman," Ranger nodded. "That's his name."

"You're Greg," I blinked at him wide-eyed. "Your exploits are infamous."

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"Okay, .other than ringing her bell perfectly the first time you ever had sex, you also walked away….the first time you had sex."

He nodded. "We'd agreed that it would be one night and then we'd go our separate ways."

"Well, how did that work for you, because you don't look like you're going separate ways to me," I grinned.

Connie sighed, "we have needs."

"It's about the sex," Ranger laughed.

"It was about the sex," Woody corrected. "We were friends with benefits for a while."

"Friends," I guffawed. "You weren't friends. You weren't hanging out and doing it now and then. You were late night booty calls."

Connie groaned, "thanks for keeping it so genteel Stephanie. I knew I could count on you."

"No problem," I giggled. "I call it like I see it. He wouldn't go down on you?"

Wood shook his head, "I don't do that unless I'm in a relationship."

"But you expected her to go down on you," I reminded him.

"A man's junk is out there for all to see," Woody explained.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes.

Connie winked at me.

"It's not like she was seeing anyone else."

Woody turned to look at Connie with a raised brow.

"You said you didn't want to get involved," she defended. "I gave you a reason to keep away."

"But that was bullshit."

"Not wanting to get involved or making up a boyfriend," I asked.

"Stephanie," Connie groaned.

"I just want clarification."

"I meant the boyfriend," Woody sighed. "Look…I'm a standup guy. I come from a long line of standup guys. It's difficult for a standup guy to get involved with a mob princess."

"A mob princess," Connie shook her head with a smirk. "My father's an underboss."

"Your father is high up in the food chain," Woody said seriously.

She shrugged.

"I just wasn't sure that I could do it. I wasn't sure my family would approve. It's hard when they're all cops and Feds and that shit."

Connie nodded, "I get that. You could have told me that."

"Yea, but then I'd…"

"He'd have to admit that he cared about you if he did that," I said gently.

"Oh," she blushed.

"So what changed," Ranger asked pushing his salad plate away.

"I realized that it didn't matter. I love her," Woody shrugged.

She sighed and leaned over to kiss him.

"So you proposed?"

"You could have knocked me over with a feather," Connie admitted and gazed mistily at her ring.

"Have you thought about when you'd like to get married?"

"Soon," Woody said.

"Real soon," Connie agreed.

"Why not here," I suggested.

"Yea, we'll do that between interviews with suspects," Woody rolled his eyes.

"Or when it's solved," Ranger said.

"What about kids," I asked.

"We don't actually want any," Connie blushed.

"Really," I blinked.

"Yea, we actually are who you thought you were," Woody said. "Anyway…"

"I would have liked the experience of being pregnant, but I know I don't want kids."

Ranger turned to look at me and raised a brow.

"It's a good idea," I agreed.

"What's a good idea," Connie frowned.

"Lula can't carry a baby," I reminded her.

"We've been talking about it," Woody said with a smile. "Connie's going to talk to Kate and if it's reasonable. If it is, we're going to offer."

"That is too cool," I grinned.

"Hey, she's my BFF," Connie shrugged. "I want her to be happy."

"We all do," I said as the waiter brought our entrees.

I dug into grilled Salmon with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables, Ranger had Hazelnut mahi-mahi and the same sides, Connie had the ribs with the same sides and Woody had flame grilled meatloaf made with Italian sausage and the same sides. The Big River Grille doesn't offer many options in the way of sides.

We were quiet for the first few bites and then the conversation started back up.

"I just think it would be cool if you got married here," I said as I toyed with my mashed potatoes.

"Won't that be hard to do," Woody frowned.

"I think we may know people who can help push it forward," Ranger said with a smile.

"I'll tell you what," Connie said. "If we resolve this thing and we have time and if I can find a dress, we'll do it."

"Really," Woody grinned at her.

"Yea…really," she laughed.

"Well, .all right then," he grinned.

They brought dessert as soon as we finished dinner. Woody and I had chocolate confusion and Connie had the cheesecake and Ranger didn't order any. What a shock!

"This whole thing is just hard to get a handle on," Ranger admitted. "Before it's usually been one of us that's either targeted or suspected of doing the deed. This time, we just happened to be here. We're outside the suck zone. Stephanie's having a hard time nailing down her tingles. It's just weird."

"I know," Connie said. "But I have to say after spending all day at the Security Office, I don't think they have anything to do with it nor do they know anything they're not telling us. They're all cooperative, scared and very concerned with each other's well being as well as their fellow cast member's well being. I just think we can rule them out as suspects."

"Yea, I know we think it's someone in authority, but I'm not feeling it," I agreed.

"Well, Tank and the guys found nothing and no viable suspect," Ranger agreed. "I think we're going to have to look outside the cast."

"Someone with an annual pass or someone who's connected to a cast member then," Woody said thoughtfully.

"I like the connection to a cast member," I said and licked my spoon.

"Do you know something," Ranger asked.

"Not yet," I sighed. "It's really more of a feeling."

"Keep exploring those feelings," he said seriously.

"They're having Sandy's memorial service right now," I said with a sigh. "I hope Jake's okay."

"Yea, he seems like a good guy," Ranger nodded. "He's clearly heartbroken."

"When will he be back," Woody asked.

"Tomorrow night," Ranger said.

"Do you think the murderer would go after him too? I mean he was clearly fixated on Sandy, if he thought Jake was preventing him from getting her, he could target him."

"That's a very good point," Ranger said tiredly.

"We'll put someone on him and see how it plays out," I suggested.

"Good idea," Ranger agreed.

"I think that's an excellent point Woody," I frowned thoughtfully going over a couple of conversations in my mind. "I think that's a very excellent point."

"You got something Babe," Ranger asked.

"Let's just say I need to check a lead or two," I said seriously.

"Okay," he nodded.

"Do you mind if I have Brian run a couple of things?"

"No, anything that gets this thing going faster is good for me," he said quietly.

"All right then," I smiled.

"So we're going dancing," Connie grinned.

"I don't think I'll stay long," I smiled. "I am on my honeymoon. I'm pregnant and I'm friggin tired."

"Don't come at all," Woody said with a slight frown. "Don't risk your health."

"Babe," Ranger shook his head, "why didn't you say something?"

"I'm stubborn," I admitted. "I want to play with the big kids."

"We played with the big kids for almost 31 years, now it's time to play with the little kids."

"Yea," I sighed. "I also want to call Julie."

"Okay," he nodded. "We're skipping the dancing."

"Thank you honey," I beamed at him.

"You're welcome," he smiled and leaned down to kiss me.

"We'll see you guys in the morning," Woody said as we got up and headed for the door.

"Explain our absence," Ranger said.

"Of course," Connie hugged me. "Take care of you and the bean."

"Will do," I assured her.

Ranger and I headed back toward EPCOT.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm just tired," I assured him.

"Too tired for some love?"

"Never," I smiled up at him.

"Good to know," he said and kissed me as we walked.


	15. Chapter 15 Staying In

The usual disclaimers still apply.

I'm on my way to Florida to Disney World and to my son's wedding. I hope you all have a lovely week while I'm gone. This one is early. The next one will be on Sunday to make up for my absence. Have a good week.

* * *

By the time we got back to the resort and made love a couple of times, I was absolutely sure that staying in was the right thing to do.

I called Julie while Ranger was on the phone with Jack Margolis.

"Hey Jules," I smiled at her voice. "How are you?"

"I'm good Steph," she said happily. "Are you guys having a good honeymoon?"

"You're never going to believe this but…"

"You're neck deep in another murder," she laughed.

"You're smart for a twelve year old," I sighed.

She giggled, "Actually…I just know you and my Dad. Wherever you go, there's bound to be a dead body."

"You know that's right," I agreed. "Are you having a good summer vacation?"

"It's good and bad."

"What's up Jules?"

"Mom and my…my dad are fighting a lot."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Maybe you and Dad could take me off their hands for a bit," she suggested. "Maybe with one less kid they'll have an easier time. The other two are so small they probably don't realize what's happening. It might be easier on them if there's one less person around who does know."

I sighed, "I'll talk to your Dad and if he thinks it's a good idea, he'll call your Mom."

"Thanks Steph. I know you guys just got married an all and it would be hard on you to have me there, but…"

"Are you kidding," I blinked in shock. "I'd love for you to be here and I know your Dad will too. Okay…different subject, what do you want from Disney?"

"Anything," she said with a smile, "I like sweat jackets and sweat shirts a lot."

"I'll see what I can find for you then."

"You and Dad…you're okay though, right?"

"Yes honey, we're great. It took us a long time to get to where we are and we're still working on it. Your Dad is still in therapy and everything. But we're in it for the long haul. We love each other."

"I could have told you that two years ago," she said.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me," I laughed.

"You know it," she giggled.

"You know we both love you too. In our new house, you have your own room decorated with you in mind. Trust me when I tell you, we'd love you to be around more often."

"Good," she sighed. "I have a feeling that may happen."

"Is there something you know that I don't know?"

"Maybe," she sighed. "But I'll let Dad talk to Mom and find out if I'm right. You know I'm almost a teenager and I get all hormonal and stuff."

I laughed, "honey, I'll be 31 in a couple of months and I get all hormonal and stuff."

"Yea, but you're pregnant," she laughed.

"And you're almost 13," I reminded her. "How weird that in a couple of months our ages will the same two numbers reversed."

"That is weird," she laughed. "Oh…I have to go Steph…Mom's calling me to dinner."

"Okay honey, your Dad will call later. We love you."

"I love you too," she said and hung up.

I flopped back on the bed and sighed.

"I just got off the phone with Jack and he says they've run into some problems with the other files. It will be day after tomorrow before we can get to them. He also thinks if we take a break tomorrow and just have a little fun and go into this thing the day after with fresh eyes we may be refreshed and knock it right out."

"He's a hopeful kind of guy," I smiled.

"Yea, he is," Ranger agreed. "Okay, you talked to Julie and now you're all serious. What's the deal?"

"Rachel and Craig are having problems," I sighed.

"What kind of problems," he frowned and dropped beside me.

"Marital problems," I said seriously. "Julie's worried. She thinks maybe if she came and lived with us for a while they could concentrate on fixing their issues without having an almost teenager there knowing everything there is to know."

"I see," he frowned. "How do you feel about it?"

"I'd love it," I admitted. "We have a room ready for her. She may as well use it. You could use this time to really get to know each other. I think it's a great idea. I'm not sure either Rachel or Craig will go for it though."

"It won't hurt to ask," he sighed.

"I told her you'd call Rachel and see what she thought."

"Thank you," he sighed and leaned over to kiss me. "Babe, I know you've had a tingle you're not comfortable with. Can you share?"

I sighed, "I think our murderer is a woman."

"No shit," he blinked at me.

"The only thing I can't figure out is whether or not she's working with the rapist or that's just incidental or that one is the cause of the other."

"Oh man…that would be sticky."

"Let's say the woman is in a relationship with our rapist. She learns about his obsession with Sandy and is so delusional that she doesn't realize it's not consensual sex. She follows them, watches, waits and then strikes."

"Shit," he groaned and flopped back again. "That leaves a lot of possibilities."

"I think it's on target with our current opinions. He's not a cast member, but she is maybe."

"Shit," he groaned.

"I just think we should check into this a little deeper."

"You're probably right. You always are."

Each of us reached for our ringing phones at that point. His was Rachel and mine was my father.

"Hey Daddy," I smiled. "How are you?"

"Good pumpkin. I just got back from the memorial service for Sandy. I don't know if you've got a wriggle in your nose about that boy Jake, but I just don't think he did it. He's devastated."

"Yea, I'm with you Daddy. He's been cleared."

"Good, I'll let Sandy's parent's know. They like him, but they're being cautious."

"I would think so."

"How are things going there?"

"Not as well as we'd like in some ways and better than we'd hoped in others."

"What does that mean?"

"Nobody's shooting at us."

"Well…that's unusual," he said wryly.

"I know," I giggled. "So we're not really gathering new leads. We're just digging deeper and deeper into the old ones."

"Sometimes that's where the answer is my dear," he said gently.

"Yes, sometimes," I agreed.

"What are you and Ranger up to tonight?"

"It's a quiet night in," I said.

"Really," he said in surprise. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just tired daddy. It's hard to be pregnant and to do all this running around. Disney is 400 acres above ground and some days it feels like I've been over every square inch of it."

"And where is your husband now?"

"He's on the phone with Rachel?"

"How is my granddaughter?"

I smiled, "she sounds beautiful. You may find out soon enough though."

"Is she coming to Trenton?"

"May be," I said watching Ranger's face as he listened to his ex-wife. I could hear her crying. He was worried. "It may be for a while."

"Honey…"

"I can't say Daddy. It's not my place."

"I understand. Well, take care of each other and we'll see you soon."

"Very soon," I agreed.

"We love you honey. Good night."

"Goodnight Daddy," I said and hung up the phone. I went to the bathroom and washed my face and when I returned to the bed with two bottles of water Ranger was gazing at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Okay honey," I said climbing up on the bed and straddling him and lying down on his chest.

"Hmm," he sighed and ran his hands over my ass. "We're going to pick her up when we leave Orlando. We'll head to Miami and load her stuff up and either ship it or maybe I'll just have them send the plane down there to move her up."

"That's probably a good idea," I agreed. "Is Rachel okay? I thought I heard her crying?"

"Craig had an affair."

"Oh," I blinked in surprise. I'd only met Rachel's husband Craig once, but I'd have bet money that he wasn't the cheating type.

"He's not the only one," he said calmly.

"Oh shit," I groaned.

"I want my daughter out of that until they get their shit together. Rachel didn't really argue with me about it. I have a feeling she was relieved. I think maybe Julie's heard more than she should have so far."

"Maybe she could talk to Dr. Addison when we get her to Trenton?"

"I think that's a good idea. We'll check into private schools too. I'm not really comfortable putting her into a public school."

"St George's is the best private Catholic school in the area. I think both sets of parents would be happy if we put her there."

"Is it coed," he raised a brow at me.

"Yes," I said and my lips twitched.

"I don't…."

"Honey…she's going to attract boys. She's a beautiful girl. At least in a Catholic school, where we know the teachers, they'll be a little more attentive to watching her."

"Who do we know there?"

"Val's teaching there," I said with a smile.

He sighed, "no offence Babe, but your sister's background doesn't give me a whole 'warm fuzzy' idea about putting Julie into that school."

"Angie and Mary Alice will be there too," I grinned.

"Actually that makes me feel better. That should worry me."

"I don't know why," I shrugged, "Angie is more sane than most of the adults I know. She's more like you than anyone I've ever met."

He laughed, "she sort of is, isn't she?"

"She is," I nodded. "She's also Julie's age so they may be in the same class. Maybe they'll even be friends."

"Maybe," he agreed. "I'm a little nervous."

"I know. All the things I've been teasing you about for months…they could be coming true right in front of your eyes."

He growled and rolled me to my back, "really, want to change your words a little bit?"

"Not particularly," I grinned up at him.

"Babe, I love you. You know that right?"

"I do. I love you," I said softly.

"You know that I'd never…" He took a deep shaky breath. "I'd never cheat on you."

"I know that," I caressed his cheek gently. "I do know that. I hope you know I wouldn't either."

"You were keeping track of the single guys around us for a while. You know…thinking outside the box," he teased.

"That was only till you got your head out of your ass. Now, I'm very content."

"Content," he raised a brow.

"I'm happy Ranger," I sighed. "All those years I fought marriage and real relationships. I got out of my marriage to Dickie and never even looked back in regret. I didn't want that. I fought it. I thought I'd never get married again and now I find that it's the best thing that ever happened to me. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. It wasn't marriage that I was opposed to, it was marriage to anyone but you."

He sighed and put his forehead to mine, "I want to grow old with you Stephanie Manoso."

I smiled, "let's not hurry that though. Let's just take our time and have some fun and a couple of babies first."

"Deal," he smiled and kissed me.

"And some spectacular sex," I suggested.

"Some," he raised a brow, "how about lots?"

"Why do you look so offended?"

"I am offended. When have we ever had anything but spectacular sex?"

"Er…"

"Wait, has there been a time?"

"Honey…sometimes…"

"Oh shit," he growled. "Don't tell me that."

"I'm not always in the mood Ranger."

"Do you fake it," he glared.

"The mood or the orgasm," I frowned.

"Either," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Sometimes I fake being in the mood," I admitted. "I never fake the orgasm. I have no need to."

"I should feel good about that answer," he sighed.

"Honey…"

"If you don't want to have sex, you don't have to," he said seriously.

"I know that," I smiled. "Sometimes I want to when I'm not in the mood because I know you are and I know you'll get me in the mood. Is that a bad thing?"

"Promise me that if you're not feeling it, you'll say something."

"Honey…"

"Promise me," he insisted.

I sighed, "Okay…fine."

"I need the words Babe," he raised a brow at me.

I rolled my eyes, "I promise Ranger."

"Thank you, and why are you calling me Ranger and not Ric? I thought we agreed that when the discussion was intimate…"

"This isn't intimate," I said with a sigh. "Telling you to fuck me harder is intimate."

He groaned and twitched.

"And I'm in the mood," I said shaking my head.

"Really or are you just saying that," he frowned.

I reached down between us and stroked him. "What do you think?"

"I think if you weren't, you should work on getting there," he said and bent his head to kiss me again.


	16. TTA22 16 Blizzard Beach

After a brief two year hiatus, several trips to Disney World, a new husband, and a new job I'm finally in a place to finish this story. I'm a different person now so I may present differently. I will try to keep the flow continuous, but make no guarantees.

Again, I don't own the characters Janet Evanovich's brilliant brain came up with. I have used them, abused them, rearranged them, dosed them with my own brand of creativity and unleashed some of my own creations just to make things interesting.

I don't make a dime. Nobody does.

* * *

When everyone arrived at the morning meeting and found Ranger and I in swimsuits and shorts and tee shirts, they were surprised. When he told them we had the day off, they about passed out and ran to change clothes so we could head to **Blizzard Beach** en mass and play in the water park.

While most people headed for **Summit Plummet** which is 120 feet in the air on a platform at the top of **Mount Gushmore**, I headed for the lazy river or **Cross Country Creek**. Padma thought even that might be too much for her and headed for **Tike's Peak** to watch babies and just laze about. I grabbed an inner tube and relaxed and let the movement of the water carry me around the park for 3000 feet. Every now and then I'd glance up at Summit Plummet and wonder if my husband survived the 60 mile an hour ascent down the 350 foot water slide. I figured I'd know at the end of the day.

Brian joined me in the water first.

"Why are we really taking the day off," he asked as we floated along.

"Because Jack Margolis told us to take a break and get a fresh perspective and because my Daddy agreed with him," I grinned.

He smiled, "well, if your Dad thinks we should take a break, I have to agree then."

"Brian…can I run a hypothetical situation by you," I asked.

"Sure," he agreed.

"Let's say that you're in love with a girl and she's not in love with you."

"Go on Steph…twist the knife a little to the left," he grinned.

"Ha," I rolled my eyes. "But…it only works if you're a girl."

"The knife twist?"

"No," I laughed, "the hypothesis."

"Okay, I'm a girl and I'm in love with a guy who's not in love with me."

"Right and both of you are psychotic. What are the odds you'd both be nuts?"

"Probably pretty good," he said seriously. "That's why all these couples end up killing together."

"Oh right…good point," I nodded. "Okay…so your psychotic boyfriend has an obsession…a fixation on someone you know and work with, how do you think your jealousy would manifest itself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Would you kill her right away or would you kill him, what would you do?"

"I'm not psychotic so I'm going to have to go by what I've read," he said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't go after either of them immediately. But in my delusional mind, she would be the bad guy and not the boyfriend. She's in the way of my happiness and he's who provides it. I would do something to her, but first I'd probably try to scare her off somehow."

"So…maybe she got threatening letters or messages or something from the doer while the guy was on this rape campaign," I frowned.

"That's an interesting theory you've got there sweetheart," he said quietly.

"Yea well, a theory accompanied by a tingle or two," I sighed. "I just can't narrow the tingle to a specific girl."

"That sucks," he shook his head.

"What do you think the odds are that she'll go after Jake to sort of 'finish the story'?"

"Well, that all depends on whether she thinks Jake was in her way," he said thoughtfully.

"Or if Jake is her obsession," I sighed.

"Ouch…that could be a real problem."

"Yea like maybe the doer and the rapist each have obsessions of their own and they work together to sort of…take care of shit."

"You have a twisted mind Stephanie Manoso," he shook his head.

Ranger and Kate joined them in the water. "Making time with my woman Goodman?"

"Are you kidding," Brian shook his head. "Inside her head is some scary shit man."

"Tell me something I don't know," Ranger laughed and kissed my head.

Kate lay back on her inner tube, "Steph…have you thought about the doer being a chick?"

"Yep," I nodded.

"Shit…they both have sick brains," Brian shook his head.

Kate and I laughed.

"It's the evidence," Kate shook her head with a smile. "The evidence suggests a woman or a smallish man. I mean hold your hand up," she said and put hers up palm up.

Brian put his much larger hand to hers.

"See," she said. "That's kind of the point. The rapist had hands like yours. The murderer had hands like mine."

"You didn't do it, did you," he raised a brow with twitching lips.

"Ass," she laughed and shoved his inner tube away from her.

"Do you think it could be Amanda or Joanna," Ranger asked me.

"I think it's possible," I nodded. "Amanda clearly had a fixation on Jake. She wanted to have sex with him and when he couldn't or didn't she could have become enraged and it fermented until she murdered Sandy. I think it's possible."

"That's actually a very good theory," Brian said. "Add to that, Amanda doesn't have an alibi for the murder."

"Really," Ranger said with a frown. "Maybe we better take a closer look at her. What do you think Babe?"

"I think it's a fine idea," I agreed.

"Is anybody hungry yet," Kate groaned as her stomach growled.

"Starving," I admitted.

"Let's get out of the water and grab a bite to eat."

We went to **Lottawatta Lodge** and ordered lunch at the counter. Brian and I ordered the cheeseburger and fries, Ranger ordered a chicken wrap with chips and Kate ordered a turkey sandwich with chips. They had water. I had lemonade and Brian had a coke which I coveted but couldn't have because I'd had coffee that morning.

"Are you sure you two are compatible," Kate asked halfway through lunch. "She and Brian eat the same crap."

Ranger laughed, "Opposites attract."

"A cheeseburger is not crap madam," Brian said haughtily. "It's just plain good eats."

She shook her head and smiled.

"I used to be worse," I admitted. "I actually eat healthy a lot of the time now."

"I never knew her when she subsisted on peanut butter and olive sandwiches," Brian told Kate, "but I've heard the horror stories."

Kate shivered, "that's disgusting."

I laughed.

Ranger grinned, "I thought she'd get even worse cravings when we found out she was pregnant, but it turns out that she just craves a little more junk food than she'd been craving. She's not bad."

"You know, I'm right here," I reminded him.

"I know you are Babe," he smiled and bent to kiss my head.

"Did you guys all do **Summit Plummet**," I asked.

"Yep," Kate nodded. "I want to do **Downhill Double Dipper** after my lunch settles. It's a 230 foot racing slide. You go up to 25 miles an hour."

"That's sissy stuff after **Summit Plummet**," Brian shook his head.

"No kidding," Ranger shook his head.

I sighed.

"I'm sorry honey," Ranger said and kissed my head. "It sucks to be pregnant at _**Disney**_, doesn't it?"

"No," I sighed. "It would be more fun if I wasn't, but I don't regret it."

"Hey Brian…later today when you've got time, could you come by our suite," Ranger asked. "I need to pick your brains about a personal matter. How's your family law?"

"I'm good," he nodded. "Sure, I'll stop by."

"Thanks," he nodded.

They headed for the more risky rides and I headed back to the lazy river. I'll be honest with you, I get enough thrills in my regular life. I'm not that big of an adrenalin junkie. I'm completely fine with the lazy river. The only thing that would make it better…if I could get on a raft and nap while I rode. Yep, that's what I'm talking about.

Eventually they became water logged and we all headed back to the resort to put on the aloe and whine about our sunburns. Okay, that's just me really. The upside to being sunburned, Ranger had his hands all over me while he applied the aloe. The bad part? Nothing really since Ranger had his hands all over me.

Ranger went out and picked up dinner at the **Contempo Café** for us. He had the veggie bake and I had an open-faced roast beef sandwich. I even forgave him for eating the veggie bake when I saw he'd brought me several chocolate croissants for dessert. I've seriously got to learn how to make these suckers.

Brian showed up at about eight and we all sat down in the living room.

"What's up," he asked.

"It's my daughter," Ranger said and shifted uncomfortably.

"Julie," he nodded.

"Right," he sighed. "As you know Rachel's husband Craig adopted her when she was a toddler. They've been gracious about letting me see her and be part of her life in the last several years."

"Right," he nodded.

"My ex-wife called me last night and told me that she and Craig are filing for divorce and he doesn't want to pay child support for my daughter."

Brian sighed. "He wants to overturn the adoption."

"Right," Ranger nodded. "It's been eight years. Won't that be difficult?"

"Not necessarily," Brian said seriously. "If we can prove that it's in Julie's best interest to make a clean break of her relationship with Craig, it may go faster."

"He doesn't want anything to do with her. He's not sure he wants his own kids."

"Shit, that's tough," Brian sighed.

"She's going to come and live with Stephanie and I after this trip. It may be a permanent thing. I'll continue to support Rachel just as I always have as though she has Julie, but she'll be with us. I just want to protect her by giving her my name."

He nodded. "I'll get right on it. Can you two handle that with a baby on the way?"

I smiled, "she's family. Julie's a good kid and even if she wasn't, we'd still want her with us. We can keep her safe and make sure that she feels loved."

"That's the most important thing," Brian nodded. "You know, let me make a phone call." He got up and took his cell phone out and went out onto the balcony to place a call.

"You know…I'm lucky to have found you," Ranger said quietly.

"I feel like the lucky one. I get the love of my life and a daughter. That's pretty damn cool."

He smiled and leaned over to kiss my head.

Brian came back inside a few minutes later smiling. "I have good news. The Miami office is drafting the reversal. They're telling me that as long as all three of you sign and appear in court for the hearing or wave the right to appear, the adoption will be reversed and she'll be issued a new…or rather original birth certificate in the name of Manoso. I'll work on drafting new papers for Rachel's support as well. Lester is going to send me the current agreement. She has agreed that you'll take Julie?"

"She thinks it's for the best at this time."

"How does Julie feel?"

"She's excited," I said with a small sigh, "but I don't think she realizes it's permanent yet."

"Don't worry, it will work out," Brian said and put his hand on Ranger's shoulder in reassurance. "You'll be fine."

"I think we'll have her see Addison anyway, just to be on the safe side," Ranger said with a smile.

"Good idea," Brian nodded. "Maybe we should get him on retainer."

"Maybe," he laughed.

"I'll see you guys in the morning for the meeting."

"Yea," Ranger nodded and got up to walk him to the door. He returned and dropped beside me and sighed.

"Honey…it's going to be fine."

"I've never had custody of her before."

"You're not running black ops anymore Ric. We have a home. We're married and we're having a baby. We're stable. Your business is stable. We'll figure out how to handle Julie. It's going to be fine."

"You sound so sure," he said with a smile.

"I am sure,' I nodded. "She's a good kid. We aren't going to repeat anything we did the last time she was here including and especially you getting shot by Scrog. Things are going to be fine."

He tugged me into his arms and hugged me. "You know…the smartest thing I ever did was marry you."

"And don't you forget it," I smiled and kissed his neck. "Don't you forget it."


	17. TTA22 17 Secrets Confessed

Before you ask, the story is finished. I'll post a chapter a day until all 29 chapters are posted. I won't abandon the story again. You have my word. I wouldn't have started posting it if I wasn't finished writing it.

Janet Evanovich seems agreeable enough about sharing her intellectual property with us. Her characters are hers no matter how much I've...er...rearranged their psyches. I make nothing off this story of monetary value.

* * *

It was nice to have a day off. I got a little extra sleep and a little extra time with my husband and I will definitely not complain about that. Daddy was right about approaching these things with a new set of eyes. I had some ideas and I wanted to follow up on them. I just had to convince my husband and the team that it was worth the effort.

The morning meeting started on time. Breakfast was there. The chatter was low and actually more about the case than anything else. Various ideas were being thrown around. I stayed quiet though. I didn't want to tip my hand too much.

Eventually Ranger called the meeting to order and we settled back with our yellow legal pads, coffee and bottles of water to figure out the plan of attack for the day.

"Okay, Jack Margolis came through with the files we needed. They printed out copies of everything and those of us not working on other specifics will go through them today." He pointed behind him, "that stack is complaints filed by cast members against guests and that stack," he waved to the other side, "is complaints filed by guests against cast members. As you can see, the cast members complain a lot more than the guests. That means that Disney does a good job of hiring. Anyone without an assignment at the end of this meeting dig into that pile and look for anything suspicious."

Everyone nodded.

"I understand that there were two young women who worked here during the time that Sandy was employed by **Disney** that committed suicide. I'd like Natalie and Mitch to check out…er…Jordan Maxwell's family and friends. Padma and Gabe, I'd like you to check out…Susan Huffman's friends. You're looking for any change of behavior, when that change started and anything else they're willing to share with you like diaries, etc. We likely need our victim zero."

The four of them nodded.

"Ali…any luck on **Facebook** or **MySpace**?"

"Nothing overt," she said and bit her lip. "It's just…I have a feeling there's something I'm missing. Her **Facebook** account is pretty clean. It's all public so there's not much to learn that anyone couldn't have learned. Therefore, it's pretty much a waste of time." She sighed, "It's **MySpace** that I'm having trouble with."

"Why," Ranger asked.

"Her **MySpac**e account is completely private. Of course, I was able to get in, but something is just not sitting right with me."

"Anything stand out," he asked. Jake is her number one friend," she said quietly. "That doesn't really surprise me. He posts to her MySpace almost daily or he did, he never posts to her **Facebook**. They also message privately on **MySpace**. Their relationship was hot and heavy. After Jake, her family is next up on her list. She has a lot of friends…about 1100. It's going to take a while to go through them and see what's nagging at me."

"Keep it up," he nodded.

"Ali, check her friends from **Disney**," I said softly. "I think there may be something there."

"I'll do it," she agreed.

"Babe," Ranger raised a brow.

"It's just," I sighed. "I was thinking that if she's being stalked and raped by someone who's not an employee of Disney, but has a connection to someone from **Disney**, it's likely to be one of her friends."

He frowned thoughtfully, "how do you want to proceed?"

"I would like to re-interview Joanna and Amanda. I think they're our most likely candidate and it would explain why she pulled away from them. Or…and this is where I get confused, she pulled away to protect them from the rapist. I'm afraid I haven't fine tuned my abilities enough to know for sure. Either that or the bean is leeching off my unmentionableness."

"Is that a word," Mitch raised a brow.

I shrugged.

"Either way," Ranger said shaking his head, "if you've got a tingle, we need to follow up on it."

I nodded.

"All right, does everyone know what they're doing today?"

There was a chorus of 'yes boss'.

"Good, see you back here at four for the afternoon briefing. Let's find something concrete people," he said and closed his leather notebook.

Ranger and I headed to Joanna's (Aurora) apartment. It was farther from Disney than I expected and in a seedier section of the city than I expected. The apartment was clean though.

"Oh," she blinked when she opened the door, "I wasn't expecting you."

"We just have a few more questions for you," Ranger said silkily. "We're trying to make some connections."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"A few," he nodded, "both inside and outside the cast."

"Oh my gosh," she blinked in surprise. "How did they get in the backstage area if they're not part of the cast?"

"Who can say," he shrugged. "Perhaps they had an accomplice."

"Eww, that's creepy," she stepped aside to let us into the apartment. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No…I'm good," Ranger nodded.

"Me too," I smiled.

"Wow, so you think it's like a team of killers," she shook her head.

"Well, we're not sure about all the details. I wanted to ask a couple of more questions about Sandy's relationship with Jake Freeman."

"Yea," she sighed. "I don't think I gave you that many details before. I'll be honest, I was just so shocked about her murder and all. I don't think I was myself and I'm not sure I am yet. I do want to help though in any way I can. What can I do?"

"Did Sandy say anything about her relationship with Jake at all that was unsettling?"

"Yea, I was thinking about that," she sighed. "About a month before she was murdered she told me that Jake was coming on really strong to her, like he was coming on too strong. She was uncomfortable with their sexual relationship and felt trapped. She said she was going to distance herself from him."

"What had he done that made her feel that way?"

"She didn't go into details, but she even tried to pawn him off on Amanda. Amanda had sex with him and all, but she didn't want all the kinky stuff that Jake was apparently into like bondage and some S&M. Again, she didn't go into details, but the gist of it was that he was too kinky for her." She shook her head, "anyway, after Jake and Amanda fizzled out she started trying to get me to have sex with him. I wasn't into that."

"Even though he was supposed to be this stud in bed," Ranger asked.

"I'm not like that," she shrugged. "I haven't had a boyfriend for a while. I'm kind of into relationships and not just sex. I couldn't do it. I kept turning her down and then I started avoiding her calls."

"What happened then?"

"It just tore our friendship apart. It got to the point that neither Amanda nor I wanted to be around her for a while. Then we started hanging out every couple of weeks and she cut back on the conversation about Jake. She was seeing someone else. She was buying lingerie for him. As a matter of fact, she bought some lingerie the last time we were together…the day before she died, at the **Florida Mall**…from Sizzlin. Do you know it?"

"Yea," I said and my lips twitched.

"Anyway, I'd be surprised if Jake was involved, but he probably knows something."

"Has she mentioned any names to you lately?"

"Not really?"

"Did she say why she was avoiding driving her car to work when she was working nights?"

"She said she was trying to go green," she shrugged. "She and Jake lived in complexes beside each other. She said it just made sense for them to ride together especially at night at least once they'd gotten through the sex stuff and were just sort of friends."

"Why would she want to ride with him when she was trying to avoid him?"

"I don't know…I'm guessing to save money. Like I said, he apparently took it okay when they cut off the sexual relationship. He knew she was seeing someone else. I mean he still looked at her like he wanted her. They perform together…they…," her eyes filled. She took a deep shaky breath, "they used to perform together in some of the shows. They did the eleven and two show through the week together as Cinderella and Prince Charming. They seemed fine. I mean, he was gentle with her. I thought he wasn't over her, but he accepted things." She sighed again, "anyway Jake was making good money and Sandy was too for a while, but her print and commercial work started drying up a couple of months ago. She may have been having trouble making ends meet."

"Is there anything else you can think of?"

She shook her head.

Ranger handed her his card, "call my cell if you think of anything…no matter how insignificant it is."

"Okay," she nodded.

We headed back to **Disney** and stopped off at Downtown Disney to grab some lunch and talk about what we'd learned. We got a seat at **Bongo's Cuban Cafe** and ordered. Ranger was in heaven. He ordered _Pechuga de Pollo Empanizado_ which is breaded and deep-fried chicken breast served with white rice and sweet plantains. I had _Sandwich Cubano_ made with Cuban bread and ham, pork, swiss cheese and pickles. Hey, when in Rome…or in a Cuban restaurant anyway. He had Cuban beer and I had a bottle of water. He's the boss, he can do that.

"What do you think," he raised a brow.

"I think it's a nice restaurant even if it's a little weird looking," I said looking around.

"I meant about the interview with Joanna," he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Oh that," I laughed. "I think she's lying or something just isn't right."

"Okay…why," he tilted his beer up to sip.

"Because I got the truth vibes off of Jake and because they were communicating regularly and with great…er verve on **MySpace**. Also, that whole thing about saving money and riding to work didn't jibe. No…she wanted to be with Jake."

"What about the other part?"

"What part?"

"The part about how she tried to push him off on her too."

"I don't believe she pushed him off on either of them. I think Amanda wanted a shot with him and she let her have it. I think she was testing him to see if he'd fail."

"Women do that?"

"Sometimes," I smiled. "Face it even Jake said that before he was with Sandy he was a rogue. He was dipping his wick in anything that would have him. Then Sandy came along and he wanted to be with her. He fell in love. It would be difficult for most girls to believe that a philanderer…like you for instance…would drop his ways to be faithful."

"But I have," he said and leaned toward me and ran his beer bottle down my bare arm. "Besides, with you around I don't have the time or the energy to fool around with anyone else."

"I'll do my best to make sure it stays that way," I grinned. I leaned back as they put my sandwich down in front of me, "oh my God that looks good."

"Enjoy," the waiter grinned and walked away.

"I may need a bite of that," Ranger said eyeing my sandwich.

"Which one of us is pregnant? Remind me again," I raised a brow at him.

He just laughed.

We arrived back at the conference room a few minutes ahead of schedule and looked over what they'd been able to dig up. There were a few instances of girls who were similar to Sandy in appearance who'd reported a guy following them to their cars, etc.

All the descriptions were similar. The guy was over 6 feet with black hair and brown eyes. He had facial hair, some said a scruff and others described a beard. He was athletically built with a dark complexion. They all said he was attractive. There were no renderings and nobody had checked the cameras to see if they could identify the guy. There had been little or no follow up.

Brian had called the security office, but all of the tapes were eventually written over, it would be impossible to follow up visually with any of those occurrences and see if we could get a picture. It was frustrating, to say the least. There was one piece of good news though. The film for the day of Sandy's murder was not overwritten. They'd saved it and were sending us a copy.

Padma and Gabe had no luck with getting any information out of Susan Huffman's family or friends. They'd noticed nothing unusual. She'd seemed fine and now she was dead. The sister really thought it had to do with her weight. Susan's weight fluctuated a lot, and that was the real reason she left Disney with no notice. She no longer fit into her costume. She knew they'd let her go when they found out, so she took it out of their hands. The sister said she had real self-esteem issues.

Natalie and Mitch were a little more fortunate when it came to Jordan Maxwell's family and friends. Her best friend reported that she'd mentioned this new guy in her life. He was tall, dark and handsome and completely in love with her and vice versa. She had told her that the sex was off the charts good. She reported that Jordan's new lover was not as tender as her previous boyfriends. He liked sex rough and dirty, but she found she didn't mind. She mentioned missing foreplay. My radar tuned in immediately. The best friend said that it was really quite suddenly that she stopped talking about the boyfriend and stopped hanging out with her friends more than she had been. Some of her friends said she was a little flaky and when she had a new boyfriend she tended to disappear into her relationship. Her best friend disagreed. Maybe she didn't talk to everyone, but when Jordan had been in relationships before she'd shared every detail with her and she wasn't talking.

She said shortly after that she stopped hanging out with any of her friends at all including her. She said she had to go to her house and see her if she wanted to spend any time with her. She was becoming a hermit. She started wearing long sleeves even though it was in the eighties outside and the friend knew that was weird. That's when she noticed bruises on her arms and legs and neck. She'd specifically noticed them on her wrists, ankles and thighs when she'd changed in front of her once. Her mother reported the same bruising.

The best friend, Hilary, could only remember that his name started with a B. Her mother let them go through her room and her things, but Hilary mentioned that she had a storage unit that was prepaid and maybe there would be something there since she'd paid a year in advance and she'd been dead only six months.

Ranger asked Brian to try to get information and permission to go through the unit. He said he'd get on it in the morning.

"All right," Ranger nodded. "I feel good about where we are right now as opposed to where we were two days ago. When the video comes in, Mitch and Ali…you're on it. Scour every inch of it. Pull out every picture of anyone fitting the description of the stalker and we'll do a photo lineup for the ladies that reported the stalker. Maybe we can get this thing done! And tonight…"

"We're having dinner with Mitch and Ali at **Mama Melrose** at **Disney Studios** and then **Rock N Roller Coaster**, **The Tower of Terror** and **Fantasmic**."

"Babe…"

"Okay, Padma and I will ride **The Great Movie Ride** a million times while you guys have real fun and we'll all go to **Fantasmic**."

"That's more like it."

"Ass," I muttered.

"And you love me," he grinned.

"TM fucking I," Mitch shook his head and walked out of the room.

Ranger leaned over to me, "I don't think he's quite over you yet."

"Give him time," I smiled.

"He's got till tomorrow," he shook his head.

"Ass," I laughed.


	18. TTA22 18 50s Prime Time Cafe

I own none of the lovely Janet Evanovich's characters. I have borrowed them, made some slight alterations and created some other characters to hang out with hers. The basics of the story (i.e., character history, job, etc.) is hers, the storyline is my own. I am in no way tangibly recompensed for my contribution.

* * *

We had reservations for **Mama Melrose** but at the last minute Karen, our liaison offered us either **Mama Melrose** or **50s Prime Time Café**. I thought I'd had enough unusual food for a while and talked Ranger into the 50s diner. Not only that, I'd heard the waiters and waitresses give you a hard time for things like bad manners. You know, just nodding and not speaking…that sort of thing. I had a feeling they'd be all over Ranger.

Mitch and Ali knocked on our door just as we were getting ready to walk out. We wandered down the hall and to the water taxi that would take us to **Disney's Hollywood Studios**. We weren't exactly avoiding talking about the case, but it wasn't the subject on our lips. The main subject was how Ali was settling into Trenton.

"So," Ali smiled as we looked over our menus. "You do know that Diesel contacted me about teaching you how to use your thing?"

"Shut the front door," I blinked at her. "You're unmentionable," I whispered the last word as a group of tourists passed our table.

She laughed, "Yep. It totally does run in families Steph. Your baby is bound to be one."

I sat back with a frown. "Great. Coz you know, I just freaking love my abilities."

She grimaced, "your baby probably won't be a shit magnet. Her father isn't a shit magnet."

"Why do you people insist on referring to our unborn child as a she," Ranger said with a huge sigh. "Nobody knows whether we're having a boy or a girl. It could be a boy. I already have a girl."

"Yea, and look how much you've changed between then and now," Ali grinned.

"She has a point," Mitch nodded.

"I'm not out screwing every strange piece of tail that passes my way," he glowered at us. "I am a married man with a wife and a daughter and a second child on the way. I'm not a dog."

"But you have been," Mitch reminded him and smirked, "Naughty, naughty!"

He turned to me and sighed dispassionately, "are you sure I can't kill or fire him?"

"I'm sure," I patted his thigh without taking my eyes off the menu.

He sighed and picked his laminated menu up. "She won't be around to protect you forever man."

Mitch just grinned and sipped his beer.

"Hi, I'm Mom and I'll be taking care of you," the heavy older woman smiled at us over her glasses. "Son, you need to keep your elbows off the table," she scooted Ranger's elbows off the table with her order pad. "We've taught you better manners than that."

I fought the urge to laugh till I cried.

"Now, I see everybody's got something to drink but you Darlin'," she smiled at me. "They wouldn't let you have anything?"

I sighed, "I'm pregnant."

She picked up my left hand and then looked at Ranger, "did you do this in the right order son?"

Bright red color effused through his face.

"I'll take that as a no," she said drily. "Darlin', what are you allowed to have?"

"May I have some ice water," I said with a smile.

"Of course," she smiled. "Would you kids like some appetizers?"

"Yes ma'am," Mitch said with a smile. "Ali…Stephanie, why don't you go first."

"What good manners this one has," she beamed at him before giving Ranger a glare accompanied by a raised brow. "You could learn something from this one son."

"Thank you, Mom," Mitch smiled sweetly.

The fingernails of my left hand were digging into my palm to keep me from laughing out loud. The expression on Ranger's face was priceless. Oh, but Mitch was edging closer and closer to the danger zone and he knew it...and seemed to like it. I will never understand these macho guys completely.

Ali smiled up at the lady, "I'd like the chicken noodle soup."

"Good choice," she nodded. "And you sweetheart," she beamed at me.

"I think the Shrimp Cocktail," I smiled.

"Son," she smiled sweetly at Mitch.

"The Blue Claw Crab Cakes," he said with a smile.

"And you Mr. I can't keep it in my pants," she raised a brow at Ranger.

"Er…Caesar salad," he said softly.

"Okay," she nodded. "I'll be right back."

"Was that really necessary," Ranger sighed.

"That's what this place is known for," Mitch grinned. "You better eat all your vegetables too."

"Like that's ever been an issue."

Eventually their appetizers were delivered and 'Mom' scolded Ranger about using his cell phone while out to dinner at the restaurant.

He sighed, but didn't threaten to kill her a single time.

"So…I know you think either Aurora or Ariel are a problem," Ali said softly over her soup. "Do you actually think one of them could be our doer?"

"I think it's possible," I nodded. "Small hands tried to strangle her to death. I just think it's likely to be someone she'd let close to her, you know?"

"Good point," she sighed. "That sucks."

"We're going to interview Ariel…Amanda tomorrow. Jake will be back tomorrow too and we're going to put a tail on him. We'll rotate watching him. It's likely that he's a loose end that either the rapist or the murderer will need to tie up," I said grimly.

"Okay, so in the last year…how many murders have you been involved with," Ali raised a brow.

Ranger winced, "well, there's this one of course."

"One," Mitch nodded.

"Our last case nobody got killed," I reminded him.

"Not specifically," Ranger reminded me.

"Two," Mitch nodded grimly.

"Then before that was Dickie," I sighed.

"Three," Mitch nodded.

"Before that were the boys on the boat for Tank and Lula's wedding."

"Plus four," Mitch agreed, "that makes seven."

"Then Brian's mother and brother, plus Delores," Ranger frowned.

"Oh and of course the DA that started it all," Stephanie reminded him.

"That's eleven," Mitch raised a brow.

Stephanie sighed.

"While I was in Chile you had Morty and his father," Ranger said.

"And the assistant," I nodded.

"That's fourteen," Mitch ticked off.

"Then before that were the two models and the photographer at Sizzlin," Ranger said thoughtfully.

"What about the girl Lauren stole the identity of in the first place," I asked.

"That's before we had the case," he frowned.

"We still solved it."

"That's eighteen," Mitch said resolutely.

"And before that was Ramon and the two underbosses," I frowned. "Did anyone else die that time?"

"No," Ranger shook his head. "But we did lose two of our guys with George," he said sadly.

"Shit, I forgot," I sighed. "I can't believe I forgot them."

"You never actually met them," Mitch reminded me. "That's twenty-three."

Ali winced, "I'm not sure it's good for my health to hang out with you guys."

"I'm not sure it is either," I frowned. "Really, what was Daddy thinking?"

Ranger shook his head.

"He knows I can handle myself," she said smugly.

"Probably," I agreed with a sigh.

"He knows that you can too now," Ranger reassured me with a kiss at my temple.

I nodded.

"All right," Ali sat up straighter, "let's go over what we know."

I leaned forward. "We know for fact that there were a minimum of two people around Sandy in the last hour of her death. We know for a fact that one of them was a man with liver issues and slow swimmers and the other was smaller than him, possibly a woman. The smaller person is the one who initiated the kill even if he or she didn't finish it."

"Oh," Ali said with a slight frown, "I didn't think of that."

"Me either," Mitch frowned. "I just assumed that if the one with the smaller hands started strangling her and couldn't accomplish the feat with lack of brute force that he or she had used a belt or whatever to finish the job themselves."

"And that makes sense," I nodded, "but it's not a fact we know."

"True," Ali nodded in agreement. "Okay, we know that Sandy had a sexual relationship with Jake. We know that Jake wanted more than that. We know that Jake and Sandy had sex several hours before her murder. We know that he didn't 'contribute'," she raised a brow and emphasized the word, "to the last DNA deposit in her body, but that really doesn't exclude him from the scene."

I frowned, "oh man, you're right. Just because he didn't leave one of the later deposits, that doesn't mean that he didn't kill her."

"Well, finish killing her," Mitch reminded her.

"Yea, he has pretty big hands," Ranger said in agreement.

"Yea," I frowned thoughtfully.

"We know that someone was making her life uncomfortable in some way because she'd retreated from her normal life," Ali said.

"We don't know that," I sighed. "I mean we know she changed her life, we don't know why."

"We know she was receiving menacing phone calls," she pointed out.

"Also true," I nodded. "However we have no direct correlation to those menacing phone calls and her change of lifestyle. We have no proof. That's all supposition at this point."

"True," Ali groaned.

"We know that the person menacing her was drunk on several occasions during the calls," Mitch pointed out. "That doesn't prove he was our last donor, but it does put him high up on the suspect list."

"Agreed," Ranger nodded. "We also know that all of the menacing phone calls were made from the parks, from payphones in the parks, while Sandy was on stage which leads us to believe, although it's not fact," he glanced at me with a slight smile, "that he person threatening her knew her schedule and recognized her in costume."

I sat up straight, "and Jack Margolis told us he didn't recognize her when she was in costume."

"He said he seldom recognizes any of the entertaining cast when they're in costume. He said they really go out of their way to turn them into the prince or princess they are portraying."

"If that's true…I mean someone with her every day would know it was her."

"Jake would know," Mitch said softly.

I sighed.

"So would Joanna and Amanda," Ranger pointed out, "and I have to tell you I don't trust Amanda or Joanna."

"Me either," I sighed, "but once again, no concrete proof."

Mitch sat back in frustration, "that's the whole problem with this case. There's not enough concrete evidence and far too much speculation, supposition and inconclusive bullshit."

Ranger leaned back with a rueful grin and ran his hand through his cropped hair, "yea, in the past we've had the advantage of continual evidence popping up."

"I'm not sure I'd call being shot, blown up, kidnapped, cut, or terrorized an advantage," I said with a raised brow.

"Well," he grinned, "maybe not on the outset."

"Again…why am I here," Ali blinked.

"It's always interesting though," I leaned forward and kissed Ranger's chin softly.

"Yea well, I'm interesting enough all on my own without hanging out in the danger zone all the time," Ali shook her head.

"It's the suck zone," Mitch corrected.

"Excuse me? The what," she blinked at him with wide eyes.

He laughed. "Okay…Diesel explained it to me like this," he cracked his knuckles. "You know that Pine Barrens have…power."

"For lack of a better word," Ali nodded.

"Well, unmentionables are naturally drawn to power and the Pine Barrens are one of a few places in the US that are…power points."

"Where are others," I asked with an interested frown.

"Oh…the Grand Canyon, some mountains in Montana and a little stretch off coast on the gulf of Mexico in Texas are pretty big. To a lesser degree there's some coastline in Oregon, South Carolina and then of course…Tennessee."

"Tennessee," she frowned.

"No coastline," he grinned, "but in middle and eastTennessee, they've got their own troubles."

"No kidding," I shook my head.

"Trust me they make the Jersey Devil look tame."

"Yikes," Ali shuddered.

"And naturally…Salem…"

"Oregon or Massachusetts," Ranger asked.

"Massachusetts," the other three of us chorused together.

"Of course…witch trials," he smiled faintly.

Mitch nodded, "but to continue."

"Please," Ranger motioned with his hand.

Mitch nodded, "the Pine Barrens attract unmentionables, and unmentionables unfortunately attract…er…"

"The dredges of society," I sighed.

"Right," he beamed at me, "so basically, the path to the barrens is…"

"The suck zone," all of us but Ranger finished together.

"Ranger, what's your talent," Ali asked him.

"How do you know I have one," he raised a brow at her.

She laughed, "I can feel it rolling off of you. That's part of my talent. I can feel someone's truth. From you I can feel your power and your love for Stephanie."

He nodded, "I can get in anywhere."

"Anywhere," she raised a brow.

"Anywhere with a door or window big enough for me to fit through," he grinned. "There is no lock that can keep me out. I just wave my hand and the lock's tumble…even electronic ones and well, security alarms they just shut off."

"Fascinating," she nodded.

"What's mine," I grinned.

"Love for your husband and well…you seem to be attracted to crime…to resolving and righting wrongs to be more precise."

"No, I'm a shit magnet," I grinned.

"Not exactly," Mitch laughed.

"But you said…"

"I know," he grinned. "I was just trying to make you understand, but the truth is what Ali said. You resolve things. You know like when you have a skip, you not only bring them in, but you make their lives better. It's what you do. Unless someone's done something really wrong to you, you usually become friends with people you are responsible for bringing to justice. You know, like Manuel," he grinned.

"Not a shit magnet," I frowned.

"Not exactly," he grinned. "It's not that they're attracted to you as much as you're attracted to fixing things and they're attracted to you to be fixed. You're a fixer."

"That's interesting," Ranger's eyes narrowed on me.

"Oh hey now," I glared at him. "I did not fix you."

"Hell no you didn't," he said and got to his feet, "let's go out and tear this park up so I can show you just how fixed I am."

I rolled my eyes and followed him. Of course I had fixed him. Who was he kidding?


	19. TTA22 19 Fantasmic

I own none of the characters that the most righteous Janet Evanovich created, however I did like hers so much that I wanted to play with them and even created some playmates for them.

The words are mine. I own them, but not the premise. I make nothing of tangible value off of any of it…yet.

* * *

We left the restaurant and heading for the center of the park where a giant blue sorcerer's hat signaled to everyone that it was the focus of that park. It was there we'd agreed to meet everyone else in our group. When we arrived we were pleased to find that we were the first there for a change, so we did what we do best and inhaled the experience that is **Disney** and…well, we shopped. We shopped for collectbile pins.

By the time everyone joined us we had added several new additions to our growing pin collections on our lanyards and Ranger was even contemplating purchasing a big backpack book to carry them around.

I was fine with the lanyard.

Once again, I am amazed at the things that will attract big strong former military men and keep them fascinated for any length of time. Well, anything other than a consensual sexual partner and big shiny weapons. Those two things just make sense.

After much chatter and shouting over each other to be heard we headed first to the **Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular**.

"Okay, what's this one all about," Ranger asked.

"You've seen the Indiana Jones movies, right," I raised a brow at him.

He stared at me blankly.

I stared back at him for a moment, "Tank," I turned around in my seat to look at the man behind me. "You've seen the _Indiana Jones_ movies, right?"

He also stared at me with a blank look on his face.

"Wait is that _Han Solo_," Lula frowned.

I moaned, "Seriously…what rock have you guys been living under? Mitch…you know _Indiana Jones_, right?"

"Er…no," he shook his head and reddened.

"Oh my God," I muttered and looked around at them, "Cal?"

He shook his head sheepishly.

"Woody," I blinked.

He just shook his head and laughed.

"Don't even ask me," Gabe said with a smile.

"Brian," I raised a brow.

He sighed, "sure point out once again how one of these things is not like the other yet again."

"Tell them," I glared.

"After **Star Wars** came out…"

"**Star Wars**," Tank frowned.

"Oh dear Lord," I grumbled and got to my feet. "Okay, when you guys were out being heroes and saving the world so the rest of us mere mortals could live safely here at home, a man named _Stephen Spielberg_ created something magical. He created the _Indiana Jones_ movie trilogy."

"I heard there was going to be another," Natalie murmured.

Kate nodded with a grin.

"It's set during World War II or shortly before. The first one is **Raiders of the Lost Ark**."

"The lost Ark," Lula frowned.

"The Ark of the Covenant," Ali whispered.

"Oh…they're religious movies," Gabe nodded in understanding.

Brian grinned up at me. "You've got them right where you want them sweetheart."

I glared at him. I took a deep breath, "no," I said patiently to Gabe. "They are not religious movies. They're period pieces."

The men frowned.

"Period pieces," Woody frowned.

"A period piece is any movie that is set in a time other than the current," I said tiredly. "These movies were based in WWII and that makes them period pieces with a clear hero…_Indiana Jones_."

"Who's the villain," Cal asked.

"Well, each movie has a different villain," I frowned thoughtfully. A big smile suddenly lit my face, but the real villain of the movies is the Nazi Party…Hitler."

"Oh," Tank frowned. "That…that's bad."

"Right," I agreed. "Anyway…"

Music started then and a man ran toward the stage.

"I'll explain it later," I sighed and sat back down.

Cal leaned over and tapped my shoulder and grinned at me, "I was shitting you. I know what this is. I just loved seeing that look on your face."

"Ass," I laughed and turned around to face the stage.

"It was so worth it," he grinned at me.

Natalie laughed with him. "Gabe knows too."

"You're asses," I shook my head and focused on the show.

When they took volunteers from the audience, it didn't surprise me in the least that they picked Tank…or Cal. But while Cal easily fell into playing his 'part', Tank was quickly distracted by the gunfire and if Cal hadn't called him off and tackled him I'm afraid the show would have gone pretty badly. There was also a strong chance that someone else in that cast would have been hurt pretty badly. Oh…and we may have been kicked out of the park no matter what our contribution to the solving of Sandy's murder may have been.

We all huddled outside together while I explained _Indiana Jones_ in more detail and Tank finally understood that this was a performance depicting a movie and not a terrorist attack or live event.

Since the **Star Wars** ride was nearby, we went there next. While we were in line I did my best to explain to Woody, Ranger and Tank what **Star Wars** was. Then Padma and I stepped out of line, since it wasn't an approved ride for expectant mothers and left them all on their own.

I suppose it would have been better if I'd been there with them, but while they may be used to danger, they are not used to intergalactic danger and the ride left them (Woody, Ranger and Tank) wide-eyed and a little freaked out. After a beer and pretzel, they decided they were good to go.

As a group, with Tank behaving most sheepishly, we agreed something more sedate was in order so we headed to **The Great Movie Ride**…again…it didn't turn out the way it should have. I just don't think the boys get that this is all pretend. Once again Tank almost tackled some poor helpless cast member and dismembered her in front of a cart full of innocent bystanders. This time it took Cal, Ranger and Mitch to rein him in. Poor Tank, he just can't stand any kind of threat.

After the fiasco of seeing 'shows' that suggested someone may be up to no good, everyone confabbed together and determined that it was best for everyone to go ride the big two rides the park offered. That was **The Tower of Terror** and **Rockin' Roller Coaster**. Neither Padma nor I was able to go on those rides, so we found a shady spot outside of the roller coaster and waited for them to come off the ride.

While most of the guys, including my husband came off it grinning and swearing it was the best thing ever, Tank looked a little green. We headed for the **Tower of Terror** and I explained to him what it was going to be and encouraged him to sit the ride out with me and Padma. Of course, the other guys couldn't or wouldn't let that happen. They harassed and harangued him until he finally agreed to go on the ride with a heavy sigh. Padma and I shook our heads and found a spot near the Tower and settled there with frozen beverages to wait for our friends.

While we sat, we did some people watching, discussed the case a bit and talked about nurseries. What can I say? We're going to be Mom's.

They emerged from the **Tower of Terror** victorious except for Tank who was a little green. I don't know, maybe he ate something that disagreed with him. Or maybe after riding the roller coaster, indoor roller coaster followed quickly by being dropped several stories continuously while being strapped inside got to him. He stood for a few moments then his eyes got big and he looked at me in desperation. I blinked and pointed him in the direction of the nearest men's room and he hauled ass like the hounds of hell were after him.

He returned paler than I thought he could ever be. We'd collected some crackers and ginger ale for his stomach and the girls crowded around him soothingly and once he was settled we headed for the **Hollywood Hills Amphitheater** to see **Fantasmic** which we'd all been assured was a not to be missed technical knock right out of the park.

I don't know about everyone else, but I bounced on my hands during it. There was music, fireworks, laser light show, floats, **Disney** characters, fire, water and a truly happy ending. Even if I didn't love **Disney**, I would go back for **Fantasmic** in a heartbeat.

Everyone but Ranger and I headed back into the park to enjoy the other rides and we strolled hand in hand back toward the entrance to catch the boat back to our resort. We'd waited till we were among the last out. The other stragglers were strolling ahead of us and neither of us was surprised that we were all couples.

"I really liked it," Ranger said with a smile and kissed my head.

"Me too," I sighed. "I almost wish the bean had been here to see it…not to mention Julie since I know she'd have loved it."

"You know…she had been here before."

"Oh darn, we won't get to bring her here first," I sighed.

He laughed, "don't worry Babe…you'll get plenty of other firsts with her and with the bean."

"I know," I sighed and rubbed my flat belly with a sigh. "Sometimes, like right now, I can forget that we're here solving a murder. I can forget that we're attracted to crime or whatever and our lives aren't normal. I can forget all of that and just be with my husband at **Disney World** having my much anticipated honeymoon."

"How does that feel," he asked dropping my hand and putting his arm around my shoulders and hugging me to him to kiss my head.

"Good," I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist, "it feels great." I sighed.

"But," he raised a brow.

"But," I sighed, "I also know that if were weren't here doing that voodoo that we do so well, that it's very likely that whoever did this to Sandy would probably get off scot-free until he or she or they do it again to some other unfortunate soul."

He nodded.

"And then, it's as though there's this symmetry…this sort of symbiosis of what I want and what is needed that takes place inside of me and it's all good."

"Yea," he pulled back to look at me with surprise on his face.

"Yea," I nodded up at him seriously. "I love you. I love our life. I know, inside of me that it was necessary for us to go where we've been to get where we are and I also believe that we serve a purpose."

"Man, you're getting deep on me at **Disney World**," he grinned.

"Shut up," I shoved at him with a laugh and the shove was largely ineffectual and just made him grin.

He was quiet for a minute, "everything's for a reason?"

"Yea," I nodded.

"Even…Scrog and George and…"

"Everything," I agreed. "Honestly Ranger we're all a sum of our experiences, wouldn't you agree?"

"Very deep," he chuckled and hugged me to him.

"Ass," I smiled against his chest.

"Then perhaps there is something in our collective experiences that is going to help us solve this case."

"Perhaps," I shrugged. "In either case, what are the odds that we'd be here when a girl from Trenton was murdered able and willing to solve the case? The odds are astronomical, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would," he frowned thoughtfully. "Is this how you've been so successful in the past?"

"What do you mean," I frowned up at him in confusion.

"I mean," He said quietly, "you've just always pretty much accepted things. Is this how you've been successful because you believe that what is meant to be will happen?"

"Don't read more into it than I'm saying," I laughed. "I just mean that we're here to resolve it. That's what I do or so you guys tell me."

He laughed.

"So…I believe I am here at this particular time for this particular event with my particular skill set and our particular friends and associates and their particular skill sets for a reason."

"What about me," he raised a brow.

"Oh baby," I grinned up at him impishly. "We **know** what your skill set is!" I laughed and took off running at the look of shock on his face.

Yea, he caught me. I knew he would.


	20. TTA22 20 Ariel & Ideas

Ms. Evanovich owns her characters and I own mine. They mingle together to create this story and neither of us makes a penny off of it.

* * *

The morning meeting began similar to how the last two had gone. Everyone was on the same page. We needed to catch who did this and keep them from doing it again. Sure, during the evening there had been a lot of fun and laughter, but as soon as dawn rose serious people convened over muffins and Mickey waffles to plan our next move. Well, as serious as you can be with Mickey waffles.

Ranger got to his feet and smiled, "all right. We had a good meal last night and if you look up on the board you'll see that we've divided what we know," he said with a grin and those imaginary parentheses surrounding the word know, "into two groups. The things we know are facts," he motioned toward the magnetic board to one column, "and the things we suppose." He motioned toward the second column. "Now, we need to figure out how many of the things we suppose we can confirm or prove wrong and figure out who did this. Ideas?"

Cal looked up in surprise and then nodded, "okay. I know we suppose that Jake loves…loved Sandy and he wasn't the killer because his DNA was left prior to the kill, but we haven't been able to prove it or…well, whatever."

Ranger nodded.

"I made a few calls this morning. Jake wasn't at the park on the day of the murder. He was at a photo shoot at Daytona from 7AM to after dark. I have confirmed his alibi. He is not the doer. We can move him and our suppositions to the fact side of the board."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Ranger grinned and moved the paper from one side of the board to the other with the magnet attached. "That fact opens the door to more suppositions and possibilities wouldn't you all agree?"

Everyone nodded.

Kate waved at him, "Manuel and I took another look at the time of death and the second sample and factored in the lazy swimmer aspect to our timeline."

"And," he nodded with a grin.

She grinned up at him, "and we can put our second contributor at the scene within minutes of her death. He has to have at least been there when she died or he left her so quickly before that it's not reasonable to assume he wasn't there."

"Got it," he jabbed the air toward her and moved the second contributors DNA to the middle of the board. "It's not fact…but it's hovering close."

Everyone laughed.

Padma stood, "I've mentioned before that I think she was raped before."

He nodded.

"And I believe…supposition, I know," she rolled her eyes, "that your second doer is the man who raped her previously and that he's the one who has been menacing her as well. As for proof," she sighed, "I can offer only behavioral analysis and my own personal experience."

Gabe reached for her hand and kissed her fingers.

"Oh Padma…no," I whispered.

She smiled at me and her eyes welled. "I've had almost as much therapy as you have," she smiled. "Her behavior over the last several months mimics mine after my rape almost exactly."

Ranger nodded thoughtfully, "Padma…may I be permitted to ask…"

"Anything you need," she nodded vehemently.

"You say your behavior and hers were similar?"

"Very similar," she nodded, "lifestyle notwithstanding."

He nodded, "was yours…was it a stranger or acquaintance?"

She grinned, "Someone I knew."

He nodded with a grim smile, "a friend?"

"A friend of a friend," she agreed.

"Stephanie…this works with your theory," he said meeting my eyes.

I nodded.

"Share with the rest of the class," Cal said seriously.

Ranger nodded to me.

I got to my feet, "if I was to profile this case…" I glanced over at Brian.

"Please do, you've got a huge success rate."

I nodded with a slight smile. "All right, I believe that our perpetrator is between 28 and 31. He is taller than average, over six feet but not as tall as most of you," I waved toward the men in the room. "He has dark hair and eyes. He is attractive, friendly and successful in business. He hasn't had much success in relationships though and I'd lay odds that somewhere in his past are restraining orders or…perhaps big ole payoffs."

"Payoffs," Brian frowned.

"Our perp believes his shit don't stink," I raised a brow and everyone in the room laughed.

"The bean heard that," Lula muttered with a smile and everyone laughed again.

"Too true," I nodded, "sorry about that bean. Don't say shit, it's a bad word." Everyone laughed. I smiled and refocused. "He believes he has the right to behave this way which suggests a spoiled and privileged background. If it's already accelerated to rape and possibly murder, there is no way this was his first trip to the rodeo."

"My…what colorful language you have today Mrs. Manoso," Mitch teased.

"Just getting started cowboy," I grinned. "Because we know there were two people involved…okay," I rolled my eyes, "we suppose there are two people involved in the murder," I tapped the board where the donor paper was, "I believe he has a…soul-mate, if you will, that is perhaps participating with him or perhaps working against him depending on their dynamic and his partner's true feelings." I reached up and moved the smaller hands to the middle. "I believe they know each other and well."

"A sick romantic triangle," Natalie frowned.

"Or quadrangle," I said pointing to Jake's photo. "Most of us believe those smaller hands belong to a woman now don't we?"

Everyone nodded with a grin.

"So either his," I tapped the donor's card," actions of sexual intercourse with our victim caused her to act out her rage on Sandy because she was jealous of her, they worked in congress to achieve a mutually beneficial end or…"

"Or," Ali raised a brow.

"Or it was tit for tat," I put my hands on the table in front of me, "either way, it bodes badly for Jake."

"How is that," Tank asked with a frown.

"If it was a love triangle…of sorts," I shook my head, "then our perp…the donor will not have achieved his goal of making Sandy his and will be furious and need to make someone pay. The logical choices in that case would be our unknown woman or Jake…because he will want to hurt someone else who touched her or because he'll want her to pay for taking his toy away."

"What about this working together thing," Lula frowned. "Some kind of ménage a trois?"

"Exactly like that," I put my finger to my nose. "They had a common goal, a third partner if you will. If Sandy was the chosen one and rebuffed them, they would definitely feel the need to kill her. You know how psychos are?"

"Oh hell yeah," Lula sighed.

"As to the…the quadrangle…"

"Tit for tat," Ranger muttered.

"She killed his toy, so he'll kill hers."

"How do you know she'd be fixated on Jake," Kate frowned.

"They…the perps…would come together because they have common agendas."

"To make them pay for not loving them," Padma said softly.

I reached over and squeezed her hand, "exactly."

"So where does the logic take us now," Ranger asked.

"As Padma has said, it's an acquaintance."

He nodded.

"And at least the man isn't employed by **Disney**," Brian pitched.

"I'd agree with that," I nodded.

"But someone knows and recognizes her, has her schedule, knows her every routine…that's someone who she knows well," Ali said seriously.

"Right," I agreed, "and that has to be someone she knows and trusts…or she at least once trusted."

"Oh shit, oh shit," Ali's hands shuffled through papers on the table in front of her. She lit on one page and ran her finger up and down the columns and then raised her head triumphantly. "They're not there."

"They're not there," I grinned at her.

She shook her head.

"Share with the rest of the class," Mitch grunted.

"Right, right," Ali grinned. "Okay…so Sandy's** Facebook** page is super public. Jake's her friend, Amanda's her friend, Joanna's her friend…but," she grinned and waved the page in the air, "on her **MySpace** account…they're not there. Jake is there…and he's there full throttle, but the girls…Amanda and Joanna are not."

"Is there any way to find out if they've ever been her friend on **MySpace**?"

"Through the administrators with a court order," she shrugged and then grinned, "or the back door…a person could conceivably find out there."

"Lalalalalala," Ranger said putting his fingers in his ears.

Ali cocked a brow at Ranger and looked at me.

"Plausible deniability," I rolled my eyes at her.

"Gotcha," she nodded and grinned.

"What is our next step," Ranger shook his head.

"We need to talk to Amanda," I said seriously.

"Amanda," Lula frowned.

"Ariel," I grinned. "Ranger and I both agree that Joanna…er…Sleeping Beauty wasn't being forthright, we need to see if Amanda has anything to add."

"Okay…Ali…continue, also continue going over that footage even though Brian told me it appeared that our suspects may have known where every camera was and either disabled the ones that could identify them or avoided them successfully," Ranger winced.

"That takes a little techno-savvy wouldn't you agree," Mitch asked.

"It could take a lot, or they watched a lot of **MacGyver** or any of the later **Mission Impossible** movies," Gabe said with a shake of his head.

"Good point," Mitch sighed.

"Connie," Ranger said, "head on back to Jack's office and cross reference any complaints within the cast with persons who aren't in the cast, but know someone in the cast."

She nodded.

"Cal and Woody, you've got airport detail. You pick Jake up at 1300 hours and bring him in to our facility. Natalie, make sure with Karen that we have a room for him and let's make sure he has what he needs. Tank, if you'd meet with him at that point and just impress upon him that he needs to stay put for his own safety."

Tank nodded.

"After you have Jake safely delivered Cal, Woody, Brian, Kate, Padma and Natalie head back underground and start asking questions about friends and boyfriends of any of Sandy's friends or acquaintances that gave them the creeps or a bad feeling or anything they may have heard. Don't talk to Joanna or Amanda though."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Ali said, "They're both off today.

He nodded. "That's good. Lula, I need you to keep digging and running checks on Sandy's life. Do not leave any stone unturned. If you see something hinky," he grinned, "check into it. Trust yourself."

She grinned and nodded.

"Stephanie and I are going to see Amanda. Everyone knows what they're doing, right?"

"Yeah," they shouted.

"Let's find us a killer…or two," he said.

Amanda's duplex in St. Cloud, another suburb of Orlando, was much nicer than Joanna's apartment. It wasn't as neat, but it was nicer and what was inside it was a little nicer.

I glanced around the livingroom before looking at Amanda with a soft smile. "How are you holding up?"

"Okay," she sniffed. "I mean as well as you can be when you've lost one of your best friends in the universe."

She patted her hand. "I'm sorry you didn't get to go to the funeral."

"I couldn't afford it."

"Jake was able to go to the memorial service and he said it was lovely."

Her jaw tightened, "did he? I'm glad he was there."

I glanced over at Ranger.

"Amanda, Joanna…she shared something with us when we talked to her last that made us a little uncertained that what we were hearing about Jake and Sandy's relationship from him and a few others wasn't quite the whole truth. She was reticent to share with us, but felt that in the interest of the investigation we needed all the facts." He leaned forward to meet her gaze, "do you have anything else you want to tell us?"

She stared at him for a moment and then burst into tears.

I moved over to the loveseat and put my arm around Amanda in comfort and met Ranger's eyes with a slight lift of her brow. "Come on Amanda, it can't be that bad."

"It's just that…Sandy was getting scared of Jake," she sniffed. "She said he was stalking and threatening her. She said he…he'd forced himself on her and then threatened to kill her or her friends and family if she told."

"Oh my gosh, how horrible," I blinked. "How did this happen? When did this happen?"

She sighed and reached for a tissue from the coffee table. "It was a couple of months ago. He started getting super demanding and told her that she needed to stop hanging out with me and Joanna because we were a bad influence on her. That's the real reason we didn't see each other for a while. He was keeping us apart. The only time I saw her was at work and then only if he wasn't around because he watched her all the time. She said it seemed like he thought she was his possession and he talked about them getting married and moving to some back woods place up north where he was from. She was terrified."

"How did she handle it?"

"I'm not sure she did," she sighed. "She would sneak around and see me and Joanna and tried to come up with a way to get away from him…I mean we all tried to help her, but he wouldn't let her go. She was too scared to go to HR or to the police or anything. She was planning to go home sometime this summer and just not come back…you know. She figured she could hide out in Trenton."

I nodded.

Her eyes got big, "she said that there were a lot of mobsters and shit in Trenton. Is that true?"

I winced, "some. Trenton has it's fair share of the family there."

"The family," she whispered wide eyed. "Anyway, she said her mother's family was connected and she'd be safe there."

Ranger raised a brow at me and I made a slight face at him before turning back to the girl, "I suppose it's possible. I mean most people in Trenton are connected or know someone well who is."

"Do you," she breathed.

I smiled, "of course."

"Oh my God," she grinned. "That's so amazing."

"If it's true, she'd have been safe there. The family takes care of their own," I said quietly.

"And if she's connected," Ranger said grimly, "it means the family will be here soon to take of whoever hurt her."

"Or whoever they suppose could have," I agreed.

"Oh my gosh," she blinked and shook her head. "Well, I'm certainly glad I'm not on the list of suspects then."

"Absolutely," Ranger grinned.

She blinked at him.

"Don't pay any attention to him," I glared at my husband. "Sometimes he can't help just showing off how pretty he is."

She nodded and smiled, "and gosh but he surely is."

I smiled and turned to study her, "yea…but he's mine."

"Of course," she waved her hands. "But trust me, you're going to have problems with that one. He's way too good looking for his own good. Guys who are that good looking are nothing but trouble."

I laughed, "He was certainly trouble to start with."

He growled slightly.

I laughed and got to my feet. "If you think of anything else Amanda, call us, okay?"

"I will, honest," she nodded and hopped up to follow us to the door.

"Let us know if you need anything," Ranger said leading me to the car.

"Be careful," she said and closed the door.

Ranger settled me into the passenger's seat of the car and walked around and got in and started the car and backed out of the driveway, "well," he asked as we drove away.

"She was all over the map. I mean how do you go from practically sobbing and mournful to fascinated with the mob to ogling my husband? There's something off about her."

"Yea," he smiled. "But she's right. I am really good-looking," he said smugly.

"And really big-headed," I rolled my eyes.

"What else Babe," he said when he stopped at the stop sign. "When you were looking around, there was this look on your face that…"

"There's something not right about the girls' apartments," I said thoughtfully. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's something…off."

He nodded and patted my thigh, "you'll get it Babe. You always do."


	21. TTA22 21 House of Blues

The stupendously gifted Janet Evanovich created most of the characters I've borrowed to create this story. I have taken some liberties with them and rearranged their psyches to my idea of what could happen to them. I liberally sprinkled in some original characters of my own and voila…this story occurred.

No matter who owns the characters though, nobody is making a dime off this story.

* * *

Ranger exited the bedroom pushing his damp hair back along the side with his hands, "what's on the agenda tonight Babe?"

"Dinner with Jess and Manuel at **House of Blues**," I said from where I sat on the couch letting my eyes run over him.

"And then," he asked.

"**La Nouba**," I sighed.

"But…"

"But I'm not really feeling it," I sighed.

"Why not," he dropped beside me on the couch and tilted his head forward to study me.

"Because I am on my honeymoon and I'm pregnant and so far I have a waist and I'd like to take advantage of my current form for as long as I'm able."

"Your current form," he frowned and reached for my chin with his forefinger. "Babe, I love you no matter what your form."

"I'm going to be huge Ric. You've seen my sister," I blinked at him with horrified tear-filled eyes. "She was enormous."

He sighed and tugged me into his lap and wrapped around me. "Okay, let's start with the last thing. You're not Val. You're you. You've never been like Val and you'll never be like Val and if your father hadn't sworn to me that he'd been responsible for both of you, I'd never believe it."

"Ric," I gaped up at him.

He grinned. "It's true. And whatever Val does, you do the opposite. So since Val gained about a hundred pounds with her last two babies, that means you won't gain much at all…just so she'll hate you."

"Huhn," I frowned thoughtfully.

"Second," he grinned, "no matter what your form is I'm going to love you. Do you really think I'm going to complain about having more cushion for the pushin'?"

"Oh my God," I groaned and buried my face in his chest.

"Tank assures me that I've been missing out having a skinny white girl for a wife and now's my perfect opportunity to find out what I'm missing…assuming you do actually gain real weight, which I doubt."

I sighed and relaxed against him.

"And third, I have no problem with blowing off **La Nouba** or **La Nouba** and dinner with Jess and Manuel if that's what you want to do. Trust me, it won't break my heart to stay in and have you for dinner instead."

"Ric," I gasped and then laughed. "Okay…you win."

"What do I win," he leered at me.

"Me…for eternity in whatever form I'm in," I laughed. "But for tonight, we'll have dinner with Manny and Jess and then come back here for dessert."

"Sounds like a plan," he grinned and kissed me. "I love you Stephanie Plum Manoso, no matter your shape…I swear it to you. And I'm sure as hell not going to get upset if you gain a couple of pounds carrying my…what was it, my enormous progeny around in your tiny little womb."

I laughed, "Let's go eat."

"Let's do that," he agreed. "You're going to need your energy tonight wife."

"So are you husband," I waggled my brows at him.

He grinned and got up and let me settle to my feet. "Show me more of **Disney World**."

"My pleasure," I smiled.

Jess and Manuel were already seated when we arrived. The maitre'd showed us to our table and left us with a smile.

"We already ordered some appetizers," Manuel said. "We got some sliders and some wings. Is that cool?"

"That's cool," I said perusing my menu.

Ranger leaned over and pointed out a couple of dishes, "While you still don't get heartburn."

I rolled my eyes, "fine…order me the jambalaya."

He kissed my forehead.

"Okay," Jess leaned forward, "I know I'm not core and I haven't been around long enough to really know anybody very well, but what is it about you that makes crime occur around you and reasonably sane and superiorly attractive men fall at your feet. I mean you're pretty and all," she tilted her head, "you're really very pretty…but there has to be more than that…right?"

I blinked and busted out laughing, "Yea, there's more to it than that."

"Dios mio, Cookie," Manuel groaned and collapsed back in his chair. "You are going to be the death of me."

She barely spared him a glance and rolled her eyes at me before nodding toward Manuel. "I mean you have this one hooked on you."

"Really," Ranger narrowed his eyes at Manuel.

"Seriously hermano," Manuel glared at him.

Ranger laughed, "Jess, you are really wrong about Manuel and Stephanie. They are what my daughter would call BFF. She's tighter with him than anyone but Lula and Natalie and there are days I wonder if they're not tighter than that."

"That's right," Manuel grinned.

Jess shook her head and rolled her eyes, "honestly…I didn't mean that you were infatuated with her. I meant that you're devoted to her."

"And I am," he nodded.

"Right back at cha," I grinned.

"So what is it," she raised a brow.

"Kindness," Manuel smiled.

"A warm and loving heart," Ranger added.

"Loyalty like you wouldn't believe," Manuel added.

"Trust," Ranger smiled softly.

"Tenacity," Manuel laughed.

"Stubbornness," Ranger grinned.

"Okay…you can stop now," I grunted. "I think Jess it would help if you knew how Manuel and I met."

"Okay, tell me," she nodded.

Manuel winced and sighed, "Go ahead."

I grinned. "Last year Ranger was bringing in bunch of skips that needed some finesse. He asked me dress up a little tarty."

"Babe, the biker thing was really way tarty," he grinned. "I still fucking love those boots."

"They were nice boots," Manuel nodded.

"They're still nice boots," he grinned at Manuel and the two of them high fived over the table.

"Eww…over-sharing," I nudged Ranger with my elbow.

"Sorry, but I'm learning from you," he grinned unrepentantly.

I shook my head, "anyway Manuel was having some trouble with his wife."

"Chica…you're skipping to the middle," Manuel said.

"But…"

"It's good. She knows who I allegedly was," he grinned.

I laughed, "all right. Ranger was in the wind and I needed some money. Vinnie, my former boss and cousin was out of town and Manuel had skipped bail."

He nodded.

"I sort of took the files to look them over and never really thought I'd bring him in because he was the infamous Manuel Forturo the alleged head of the Forturo crime family. That night when I'm about to sleep, I get an anonymous tip that I can pick him up at a certain address. I followed the lead and picked him up. That was how we met."

She nodded, "how do you go from bounty hunter and skip to BFF?"

"See, I have this way of taking information and following it to its logical conclusion even when it's not the most popular. There were crimes going on all over Trenton and everyone wanted to bring Manuel in because they were so sure that he was the baddie, but I didn't buy it. I figured out what was going on and saved him."

"And I saved her," Ranger said.

"You and two dozen of your best men, another dozen cops and half a dozen federal agents," Manuel grinned.

"Fuck off," Ranger grinned back at him.

"I was after all a dangerous criminal," Manuel preened.

"Allegedly," I grinned.

"Still…," Jess frowned in confusion.

"We just sort of bonded," I shrugged. "Haven't you ever just met someone and known they were supposed to be in your life. Manuel and I are sort of like that. Even when he was off in Grand Cayman living the high life and trying to pick up…" The rest of my words were muffled against Ranger's hand.

"Thanks hermano," Manuel grinned. "I owe you one."

Ranger shrugged and removed his hand.

I sighed, "We're friends."

"Well, I'm glad," she smiled. "I've never been one of those super possessive women that needed her man to only see her. I'm fine…actually super happy that he has a female friend he's that close to."

"Why is that Cookie," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Most of my friends are guys," she shrugged.

"Oh Dios mio," he sighed and flopped back. "She's going to kill me Chica."

I laughed, "If she was any less than what she is she definitely wouldn't be enough for you. You need a strong woman. A lesser meek little obedient wife would drive you crazy and you'd never last."

"Wife," Jess said wide-eyed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves! We've barely begun knocking boots. We can only recently stand to be in the same room together. I think marrying us off right now is a little quick off the mark."

"You wound me," Manuel said dramatically. "Cookie, don't you just know I'm the one for you? Can't you just feel it," he put his hand to her chest right over her heart. "Can't you feel it right here? My corazón and yours beat as one?"

"Oh Jeez," she groaned.

"And she let you grope her right at the table," Ranger grinned. "Smooth move," he said proudly.

Manuel laughed and Jess blushed furiously and sputtered.

"You're not helping anything Ricardo," I glared at him. "And you," I glared at Manuel. "If she is your heart, then why aren't you treating her with more respect? I swear to God, even I don't let Ranger grope me at the dinner table at **Disney World**."

He sighed, "I am sorry, Cookie. I shouldn't have done that. I just get so impassioned to make you understand and..."

"I know," she sighed and leaned against his arm.

I rolled my eyes at Manuel and he grinned. The girl was hooked. Manuel was a gentleman most of the time. He was a good man down deep, but he had an evil streak in him. He loved to tease. He loved to get one over on people, especially people he cared about. It might be a while before Jess figured out he was full of shit, but she would figure it out.

The waitress brought the appetizers and took our food order. She hurried off and got our drinks, my water and Ranger's beer and left us alone again.

"What about the rest of it," Jess asked as she put a couple of wings on her appetizer plate.

"The rest of it," Ranger frowned.

"You know…the criminals who just fall in my path," I shrugged. "That's a little more complicated."

She studied me for a moment, "you're like…bruja?"

I blinked at her and laughed, "No, I'm not a witch, but you're not far off. There is magic, but it's innate and not spells."

"Gotcha," she nodded. "Like with me and the dogs."

I raised a brow.

"I talk to them," she shrugged. "They talk to me. We…understand each other."

"That's a pretty cool skill to have," Ranger frowned.

"Yea, well…"

"Then why do they not keep their mouths off the evidence," Manuel glared at her.

"Because you pissed me off and I told them not to bother until I got tired of torturing you," she shrugged. "It will stop when we go back." She raised her head and winked at me.

Maybe she understood him already. I couldn't help the grin that stretched my face so I looked down at my plate as though terribly interested in the couple of wings and one pork slider that was on it.

Manuel muttered to himself in Spanish for a while mixed with the occasional English word. The gist of it was that Jess was crazy and that was what he deserved for not leading a more pure life. I couldn't disagree.

By the time we left them and headed back to our resort as they went to join everyone else to see **La Nouba**, I felt I'd gotten to know Jess pretty well. She was going to fit in perfectly in our dysfunctional little family. She was just crazy enough and weird enough to be part of us. It was a huge relief on my part. After all she was with one of my best friends in the universe.

Ranger waited till we were walking down the hall from the elevator before he said anything else. "That was good. I like her."

"Me too," I admitted. "I was a little worried at first when she seemed to just buy into everything he said, but by the time we were into the appetizers, I knew she had his number. They'll be fine."

"Yea," he laughed. "I think he's in for a wild ride."

"He likes wild rides," I assured him.

"I don't know that I'm comfortable with you knowing that much about him."

I just laughed.

"Feel better?"

"Tons," I agreed.

"You didn't eat much."

"You ate enough for both of us," I grinned.

"Seriously, am I the one getting the pregnancy hormones? I ate dessert Babe…chocolate! I ate chocolate!"

"It was good though, right?"

"Yea," he grumbled.

"Maybe it's the way the universe is keeping me from getting fat so I'll appeal to you all the way through the pregnancy. I mean if Gabe and Padma are right, we'll be horny at least till the third trimester."

"You mean you'll be horny and I'll be pleading for mercy if Gabe is right," he raised a brow and opened our door.

"Same thing," I shrugged and waited till he got through the door and locked it before sliding my hands up under his shirt to touch his skin. "God, I love your skin. You have the smoothest sexiest skin on the planet." I pushed his shirt up and nuzzled into his chest, "Oh yea…pure sex on a stick."

"Yep, it's going to be completely humiliating the day I have to call uncle," he groaned as my fingers fumbled with his pants.

"Yea, but until then you'll have a great time," I grinned up at him.

After that, there wasn't much talking.


	22. TTA22 22 Finding Some Answers

Janet owns them. I've stolen them…just for a few minutes and then will return them mostly unscathed. I'll make nothing from it and neither will she.

* * *

I gently extracted myself from my exhausted husband and tiptoed out of the bedroom. There were things about this whole case that just didn't sit well with me. There was a dead girl from Trenton. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people die in Trenton. It is in the suck zone. But this was way outside the suck zone and I've known this kid since she was born. I mean we didn't hang out or anything, she was way too young to be my friend growing up, but we had some moments along the way. I remember baby-sitting for her a few times since Lucille and my mom ere so close. I felt somehow responsible. Not for her death, I'm not insane. But I felt like it was my responsibility to find her killer and make sure justice was served. I just didn't feel like I was getting very far with it.

I sank down on the cushiony deck chair and sighed. "Number one tingle," I muttered, "the body." I'd never gotten a tingle from a body before, not from an actual death. I'd only had tingles connected to when bad things were going to happen or who was going to be doing those bad things. This was a first. I wondered if I was because I was too far away from my power source…in my case the Pine Barrens or if I was actually getting more powerful. It was an interesting thought. It was something I really needed to ponder and talk to Diesel about the next time I saw him. He was my go-to guy for all things unmentionable.

Tingle number two, really nothing more than a slight twinge was with Joanna when I first talked to her. Another one of those when I talked to Amanda the first time and there was a bigger tingle with each of them the second time although they felt different. I didn't know how to categorize those tingles though. Amanda's tingle felt familiar, but the one with Joanna definitely felt different. It felt something like the one did when I'd found the body. And that worried me a lot.

I dug my phone out of my robe pocket and texted Tank. I asked that when they got out of La Nouba someone please go to Joanna's house and just guard it. He texted back seconds later saying he'd get on it.

I never got a tingle from Jake or about Jake. It wasn't the only reason he was in the clear, the evidence pointed that way too. But it was true that I allowed my tingles to color my judgment and I wondered why I was doing that. I didn't believe them a hundred percent with the Barnhardt was trying to kill me, why did I trust them now. I didn't know.

The slider opened and Ric stuck his head out and sighed. He came outside and picked me up and sat back down with me in his lap. "I woke up alone…without my wife. I didn't like it."

I smiled and melted into his warmth. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep."

"Why not," he frowned.

"Just…I have some hinky feeling that something is going to happen to Joanna."

"I'll get someone on her then," he said seriously.

"I did that already," I sighed. "There's just…I mean it almost feels like the tingle I got when… You know I'm being ridiculous. I just know that one of those girls knows something."

"And you know that you're usually right."

"I know," I nodded.

"Come back to bed with me. I'll make sure you're too exhausted to worry about it anymore tonight and you can work your magic in the morning."

"How are you going to do that," I asked.

He whispered in my ear.

I felt my face begin to burn. "Okay then…let's go." It worked too. I didn't think about it anymore.

Ranger conferred with Tank for a few minutes before he began the meeting. "How was La Nouba?"

There was a lot of talking over each other as everyone rushed to talk about how amazing it was. I felt a momentary twinge of guilt for keeping Ric from it, then he smiled at me and I knew it was more than fine that we skipped it.

"I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. So…Cal is watching Joanna's place right now. Gabe had the first leg and the house was quiet. Cal says it's still quiet."

"A lot happened yesterday, so I'm going to let Connie get the ball rolling. Early this morning her database got its first hit."

Connie got to her feet, "as you're aware I built an algorithm to kind of take all the complaints especially those violent or sexual in nature and compare them to the profile and see who was connected to whom. This morning, while we were sleeping I got the first hit." She walked up to the board and put a picture on the supposition side. "This is Brady Long. He's 29 and he's from a wealthy family from Idaho. He's had a couple of complaints filed against him at the World, and several more in the world outside. Nothing stuck. Everything seemed to just go away. This guys an oil slick."

"What kind of things," Ranger asked.

"Stalking, assault, domestic violence," she shrugged, "the kid's a walking time bomb. He came to **Disney** and applied several years ago and they wisely did a background check and didn't hire him. He works for one of the nearby hotels as an assistant manager. He's moved up the ladder several times since joining their team and appears to be pretty successful."

"Who's he connected to," I asked and held my breath. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit… I know."

She raised a brow.

"The first time I met her, Joanna said that when the girls were all living together she'd started dating this guy named Brady who worked at one of the hotels."

"Bingo," she said and put her forefinger on her nose.

"Kate," Ranger turned to the doctor. "Did you meet Joanna?"

"Yes, I met both of the girls at the coroner's office. They officially came down to identify the body."

"But…Jake identified the body," I frowned.

"I guess they felt him unqualified to do so although I'd say he probably knew her body better than they did," she smirked.

Brian's eyes got bigger.

"Sorry," she bit her lip to fight the smile, "doctor humor."

I grinned, "Okay…well, it's true."

"And her parents are thrilled," Ranger nodded. "Did you get a good look at her?"

"Of course," she nodded.

"Could her hands have made the marks around Sandy's neck," he asked.

She nodded, "yes, absolutely. But in truth, either of them could have as well as several of the women in this room…myself included. I mean we're all about the same size. I would have to exclude Natalie, but everyone else is in the pot."

"Why am I excluded," Natalie frowned.

"You're very petite," Kate said seriously.

"Honey, that's a good thing," I reminded her with a wink.

"Oh yeah," she grinned.

"But she's the one with the history of a relationship with Brady." Ranger turned to Tank, "you, Mitch and Woody go get Brady. You have an address for me Connie?"

"I do," she handed him a piece of paper."

"Gabe…you and Manuel go over to Joanna's and with Cal bring her in. We've got a couple of storage rooms set up as interrogation rooms. You know where they are."

"Yea," Tank agreed.

"Put Brady in the one 2A and Joanna in 2B," he said. The keys are on the peg board to the room. Brian, when they get back with them, lock them in there and keep a grip on the keys."

"You got it," he nodded.

"There's still something nagging me. It was the apartments," I sighed.

"You'll figure it out," Ranger kissed my head. "I'm going to go call the office and then let Jack know what's going on. Why don't you take a nap?"

"Good idea," I agreed. I had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep. Between our rambunctious behavior and my nagging thoughts, I'd been up most of the night. I'd just gotten into the bedroom when my cell phone rang. I was surprised to see my sister's smiling face when I opened the phone and sat on the bed.

"Val, is everything okay," I said trying not to panic.

"Oh honey yes," she reassured me. "Ricardo called me and asked me to send stuff over to the office about the school. He went straight to voice mail so I decided I better call you. You do know the school's almost full? And you do know it's way too early to get the bean on the waiting list?"

I laughed, "Yea…it's not the bean Val. We're getting custody of Julie."

"Oh, that's great, right? I mean I know you adore her and everything. But you two did just get married. I have to tell you having kids when you're trying to figure out your own relationship isn't easy. Albert is a saint I assure you. He tolerated so much from the girls when we first married."

"Oh I'm sure it wasn't that bad, besides Julie and I already have a great relationship and she'd be hard pressed to win if she went up against Ric."

"She would at that," Val chuckled. "Let's see, she's Angie's age right?"

"Yes," I agreed.

"There is an opening in that class. Tell you what, I'll put her name down and you make sure to pay the tuition bill I'm going to have them send you."

I laughed, "Trust me Val, the check you get from Ric will be worth way more than just tuition."

Val smiled, "I'm sure you're right. The Archbishop will be delighted. No…baby no. We don't touch mama's pictures. I gotta go Steph." She disconnected.

I flopped back on the bed with a smile and then sat back up with a look of shock on my face. I grabbed my key card and phone and high-tailed it down to the conference room. I grabbed Connie's hand, "where is everyone? Are they bringing them in?"

"Don't think so," Natalie said from the doorway. "Brady's place is empty and Cal's not getting an answer at Joanna's. The local police are meeting the guys there and Ranger and Jack are headed that way."

"Ranger went to Brady's," I frowned.

"No," Lula said as she entered the room. "That was the weird part. I thought Batman would go after the big guy threat, but instead he headed for Joanna's place."

"Well, Tank was at Brady's," I said thoughtfully.

"Yea, there is that," Lula nodded, "and he said his wife didn't have no tingle about Brady. Her tingle was all about Joanna."

I grinned in satisfaction. It was good to be trusted.

Hours later the men returned with Jack Margolis with them.

I hugged Ric, "anything?"

He sighed. "Yea, we got something but nothing good."

"How bad is nothing good," I asked.

"Have a seat I just want to say this once," he said.

I nodded and went to my seat beside Natalie.

He looked over at Tank and raised a brow.

Tank nodded and headed for the front of the room. "We're going to make this quick since we have DNA to process, but the long and the short of it is that Brady wasn't at the residence and it seemed to me that he hadn't been there in quite some time. He did however leave a used razor, toothbrush and hairbrush there as well as several…er deposits so we feel confident we collected a viable DNA sample there. Again, I have to say it didn't appear that he'd been there for a week or more, certainly not since Sandy's death." He nodded at Ranger and moved to lean against the wall.

Ranger sighed, "So no good news there and no good news at Joanna's place either. At Joanna's place there appeared to have been a struggle. There was blood evidence."

I gasped and my head dropped.

Ric's hand gently settled on my down bent head. "There was a lot of blood. Kate, I would like you to head back over to the scene and take a look. Go with Cal, he'll make sure they let you in. I just want to know whether you think it's probable that whoever lost that blood survived."

She nodded grimly.

"It is my opinion and it's an educated opinion that we have a second victim…a second body. Because he won't have access to the backstage area without her, it's unlikely that the body will be dumped on Disney property…well, at least in the parks proper. The Seminole County Sherriff's department is heading up the investigation into the disappearance of both suspects. They are treating both as fugitive disappearances until DNA tells them otherwise. The locals have informed us that they expect us to be able to determine the profile first based on our high tech equipment," he smiled at Manuel. I've promised to keep them in the loop."

"We need to get Amanda," I said softly.

"What," he blinked at me.

"We need to bring in Amanda," I said seriously. "I realize what was alike about the apartments."

"What," he frowned.

"They were depersonalized. There were no family photos, no collages of friends, no cute little corkboards with ribbons and bows with random pictures stuck under the ribbons. There were tables, lamps, chairs, sofas…beds, dishes but absolutely no personal items anywhere in any of the girls' homes. Now, we know or we believed a cleaner had gone through Sandy's place, but what if that wasn't the case. What if Brady forced that on them."

"Jake has pictures," Ranger said thoughtfully. "He had pictures of him and Sandy all over the place."

"And his family," Brian said.

"So he wasn't part of it for sure," Ranger said with a nod. "And I'm willing to bet at least a couple of those pictures were made at Sandy's condo."

"Get me copies," I said chewing on my lip.

"What's up," he frowned.

"Gut feeling," I sighed.

"Your gut feelings are golden," he said seriously. "What is your gut telling you?"

"Brady raped Sandy. Sandy felt betrayed and cleaned her apartment of all her personal stuff. He didn't make her. She just didn't want any reminders of him and that meant no reminders of those he was attached to. I understand why she wanted Joanna out of her life based on that, but why was she kicking out Amanda. Wouldn't she want to keep that one friend she trusted close? Padma, what's your take on this?"

"Yes…she would, I would…if I trusted her."

"And therein lies the problem. The only reason I can fathom that she would have gotten rid of all of it was if she didn't trust anyone. Now…we know that she continued her relationship with Jake, but it was covert. I mean outwardly she expressed…or we're told that she expressed to her friends that he was a problem and she didn't trust him. But we know from her **MySpace** account that the opposite was true. Did she lie to both of them, or did they lie to us?"

"Good question," Ranger frowned.

"The only person who she didn't lie to was Jake," I said seriously.

"Not exactly," Ranger reminded me. "She lied to him about going green."

"But he knew better and as close as they were she knew that he knew better," I said seriously. I turned to Natalie. "When you tell Cal that nothing is wrong when something is really wrong…"

"The boy is like a dog with a bone," Natalie shook her head with a smile.

"And I know Jake was too. So she never told him what happened, but she knew that he knew something was up and she knew that he had her back. She was safe with him. She slept in his bed and not her own because it was safe. She didn't want him there where he was in jeopardy," I groaned. "Oh snap! She was protecting him."

"Oh snap," Ranger blinked at me with a smirk.

"My fault," Ali sighed. "I say it all the time."

"So…if she trusted nobody but Jake," Brian said, "then that means that both of our sweet little princesses were, in her mind, in some way responsible for what Brady did to her."

"Well," Lula said, "the buzz underground is that Brady kicked Joanna to the curb for fresh meat about six months ago. The buzz is that it was someone Joanna knew, someone in the cast."

"Do you think that's when his obsession with Sandy started," Ranger asked me.

"The timeline is wrong," I frowned. "Sandy was hot and heavy with Jake even then. Their relationship was progressing normally from everything Jake has told us."

"Then…"

"He probly just jumped princesses to Ariel," Lula said in a slightly bored voice. "I mean that boy has a mean streak a mile wide and face it…Ariel is a ho."

I blinked at her with my mouth hanging open. "Lula…you're brilliant!"

"I am," she blinked in surprise. "Well, hell yea of course I am. And don't you forget it!"

"Not a chance," I grinned. I turned to Ranger, "find Amanda. She's got some 'splainin to do."


	23. TTA22 23 Dead Tingles

The indomitable Janet Evanovich created the base characters of this story. I have tweaked them, rearranged their frontal lobes, redefined their splines and am using them to tell my own tale with some of my original characters thrown in just to make it more interesting. Neither Ms. Evanovich nor I will make a red cent off this story.

* * *

The rest of the day was a flurry of activity. Amanda wasn't at home. She didn't show up for work. As a matter of fact, none of the three showed up for work. I wasn't surprised.

Kate grimly confirmed Ranger's suspicions that it was unlikely that whoever lost that much blood in Joanna's house was still alive. Manuel informed everyone that the blood was Joanna's in the late afternoon and with a glimmer of who he allegedly used to be in his eyes, he let us know that the unknown donor in the middle of our pile was Brady. He'd also left DNA at the scene of what could only be Joanna's murder as well. He was in big trouble.

Jack Margolis sat in the corner most of the afternoon with a cup of coffee that I kept refilling for him, his cell phone to his ear and a look of grim resignation on his face. The higher ups at **Disney** were unhappy about these murders. And even though it hadn't made the paper, Jack's back was against the wall. He didn't like it there so much. I could tell.

"You okay Jack," I asked and dropped into the chair beside his.

"This whole thing is taking its toll on everyone who knows about it," he glanced over at the magnetic board. "How do you do this all the time? How did you wake up and say, you know…I think I want to solve crime as my life's work?"

I laughed, "I didn't. I don't know many people who did. Most of us just sort of ended up here because we started on another path and met someone who thought this would be a fun path. I definitely didn't think I'd ever be doing this."

"No," he raised a brow and sipped his coffee.

"I went to college and went to work at a lingerie company as a sales rep."

"No way," he laughed.

"Way," I nodded with a smile. "And it wasn't one of those cool lingerie companies either. It was more utilitarian third world lingerie. You know, stuff your grandma should wear," I sighed. "Not that mine would be caught dead in the stuff."

"That bad," he grinned.

"Way worse," I shook my head with a rueful smile. "They had a little trouble with the feds and everyone lost their jobs including me. I had a little nest egg, but when it ran out I was getting desperate because all I'd been able to find was temp work. Nobody really wants to hire someone who worked for a company being investigated by the feds even if you've been cleared of all wrong doing."

"I guess not," he nodded.

"So my cousin Vinny owned this bail bond company and I sort of blackmailed him into letting me try it."

"And you were good at it," he smiled.

"Oh hell no," I laughed. "I was…well, I wasn't the worst… Well maybe, I was pretty bad," I laughed. "But I was really good at finding the skip and if they were local, I could bring them in. But my follow through was bad and most of the time I ended up in some scrape or another."

"What kind of scrape," he asked.

"It usually involved me being covered in some sort of…biological substance, nudity on the part of my skip, garbage and probably a broken down, vandalized or destroyed vehicle."

"Really, they destroyed your cars," he said wide-eyed.

"She destroyed 13 vehicles," Ranger said dropping beside me with a tray with three sandwiches, chips, drinks and cookies.

"How did you do that," he asked in shock.

I shrugged and meted out the food, "sometimes they caught fire."

"Sometimes they blew up," Ranger added.

"One was crushed by a piano," I grinned.

"That was mine Babe," Ranger raised a brow.

"Another was rolled over by one of those street flattener things."

"Also mine," Ranger raised a brow at Jack.

"It was a Porsche," I grinned.

"They were both Porsches," Ranger reminded me.

"Oh dear God," he blinked. "And you still married her?"

"She keeps things interesting," he grinned.

"Ha," I rolled my eyes. "He didn't marry me until I started getting things together personally."

"I loved you then," he reminded me.

"You were afraid of commitment," I reminded him.

"Pot," he raised a brow.

"Kettle," I grinned back.

Jack laughed, "all right. You were a disaster. What happened then?"

"Connie asked Ranger to take me under his wing and teach me some skills…at the beginning," I grinned. "So he comes along like a cross between Professor Higgins and Zorro and tried to teach me some skills."

"Wait…I have a mental picture," Jack grinned and then burst out laughing. "Good one," he grinned and high fived me.

Ranger just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I didn't really want to learn though, so I failed," I laughed. "He still continued to help me and try to get me to train and be better, but for some reason, I just fought it like there was no tomorrow. I suppose there was a part of me that rebelled at learning skills to do it well because in my mind that meant that was what I would be doing as a career. At the time, my mother couldn't have been more opposed. She kept trying to get me to go work at the button factory, or even the tampon factory. I fought that too."

"So what happened," he asked and bit into his sandwich.

"Something big was dropped into my lap," I smiled. "After that something big, I just sort of woke up and smelled the coffee. One day, things just started to click inside of me and I started getting it right and doing more things to ensure I would continue to get it right."

"And you started accepting my help and the help of the guys," he nodded.

"I even took cooking classes," I smiled. "I went to therapy. It was a big help."

"And you two were dating that entire time," he asked.

"Oh no," I laughed. "I was seeing someone else until just before that something big went down. I was attracted to Ric, but he gave me this line about loving me in his own way and he'd do anything for me, but he'd never be in a committed relationship. His life didn't lend itself to relationships."

Ranger rolled his eyes.

"But…"

"But, we somehow found our way to each other," I smiled.

"With a shitload of help," Manuel said as he joined us at the table.

"**You** didn't help," Ranger said pointedly.

"Hermano, you wound me," Manuel grinned and bit into his sandwich.

I laughed, "And the rest is history."

"With a few DBs and such thrown in on the side," Mitch agreed dropping beside Jack.

"You didn't work for Rangeman then though, right," Jack asked me.

"Sometimes," I grinned. "I did some computer searches and helped out with an occasional distraction."

"Which she excelled at," Cal dropped down too.

"What is a distraction?"

"A sexy woman in few clothes," Cal waggled his brow at Jack.

Jack gaped and burst out laughing.

"So you see Jack, I evolved into a successful crime solver."

"She's the brains, we're the muscle," Tank said and sat down on the other side of Ranger.

"And the rest of these lovely ladies," Jack waved his hand around the room.

"That one's my wife," Cal pointed to Natalie sitting gossiping with Lula and Padma. "She works for Ranger and Tank's other company. She's runs Sizzlin'."

"The lingerie company," he said wide eyed. "Oh wait, I remember Veronique had a little issue with a warrant in Paris and sold the company."

"She had more issues than that," I grumbled.

Ranger rubbed my back with a grin.

"Yea," Cal nodded. "So they bought it and its thriving."

"And that one," Tank pointed to Lula, "is my wife. She and Steph used to work together."

"She was a bounty hunter," Jack said wide-eyed.

"More of a file clerk," Tank grinned.

"And my sidekick," I beamed.

Jack laughed. "What does she do now?"

"She's a radio personality."

"Oh shit…I've heard of her," he nodded thoughtfully, "Lula Thibodeaux?"

Tank nodded with a grin.

"That one," Manuel pointed to Jess sitting in the corner with Connie reading while they ate, "works for Rangeman. She trains dogs to do search and rescue, evidence sniffers…that sort of thing."

"Have you had to use dogs," he asked.

"Not yet," Ranger shook his head, "but it's good to be prepared."

"Yea," he nodded grimly.

"That one," I pointed to Padma who was being kissed by Gabe before he ran back out.

"Padma," he nodded. "I know who she is. I am guessing the man who kissed her is her husband and he works for you?"

"Good detecting," Ranger smiled.

"I'm a natural," Jack shrugged.

"With Jess is Connie, she's Woody's fiancée and we used to work together at the bonds office," I smiled.

"What does she do now?"

"She's between positions," Ranger said with a smile, "she helps Lula out now and then, but she's about to have her hands full."

"Really full," I agreed wide-eyed.

"Last are Kate and Ali…almost like the TV show," I grinned.

"Not quite," Cal laughed. "Kate is Padma and Stephanie's obstetrician. Ali is Steph's cousin."

"But…"

"I knew you wanted us to blend in with the tourists, so I called in some favors. A bunch of big ex-military guys wouldn't blend in well. But add pretty girls to the mix and voila, you have vacationers."

"Good move," he nodded.

"We have our afternoon meeting after this," Ranger said. "Would you like to sit in and see where we are with everything?"

"I would really appreciate it. Connie has done a great job of keeping me apprised, but I'd like to see the flow."

Ranger nodded, "you're welcome."

"We'll even try to behave," Cal grinned and waggled his brows at me.

"Not on my behalf," Jack laughed.

I giggled.

The afternoon meeting began late and nobody was surprised. With the local police behaving more or less frantically and our team's willingness and ability to assist them, we were busy and the phones were ringing off the hook.

"Is everyone here," Ranger looked around the room. "Gabe?"

"I put Jake in 2B for the duration of our meeting," Gabe said.

"Good man," Ranger nodded. "I know everyone realizes that we're at that point in the investigation or journey that things are hitting the fan hard core and we have to move now and resolve it or we're going to be shit out of luck."

Voices murmured in agreement.

"I'm going to turn the floor over to Manuel for a few minutes. He's got the DNA back from all the kits and he's going to get us up to speed. After that I'd like Kate to take the floor and let us know what we're looking at."

Manuel got to his feet and Ranger walked over to lounge against the wall.

"We got a lot more than we expected. Seminole Sherriff's department was very generous in allowing us a look at their evidence and allowing us to collect some. They are aware of Rangeman's reputation and knew we could get the results back faster. I have passed the results on to my contact at SSD." He took a deep breath. "The majority of the blood evidence belonged to Joanna or Sleeping Beauty. I couldn't get a good read on the size of the blood pool, but it appeared to be approximately 1.5 to 2 liters, which doesn't bode well for Joanna. Besides the blood evidence, our friend Brady left a sticky contribution or two."

"Ewww," Lula made a face.

Manuel fought a grin, "we believe it was prior to her death and Kate will probably be able to tell us if it was consensual at some point. I was able to isolate one of them enough to know it was a recent contribution and was combined with a contribution from Joanna. However," he raised a brow and stepped aside popping a couple of magnetized photos up on the board. "There were a couple of sticky contributions like I said. The first was Brady combined with Joanna. The second was Brady combined with a previously unpresented donor. Female."

"Any ID on that," Ranger asked.

"I have a sample running now that should give us a clue," he said smugly. "I will tell you that it wasn't Sandy's DNA and that contribution occurred within half an hour of the one with Joanna."

"Interesting," Ranger said. "Do you have anything else?"

"Not at this time, but I'll let you know when I have a conclusion. I have it set to alert my phone."

Jack blinked at Manuel and then Ranger.

Ranger just grinned at Jack. "Thanks Manuel. Kate, you're up."

Kate got to her feet. "I can tell you without question that the amount of blood on the floor leads to death. Manuel is right, there was almost 2 liters of blood on the floor. The average adult male weighing 160lbs only has 4.7 liters. Joanna was 5 foot 7 and weighed in at about 120. That means she probably had about 3.5 liters of blood. There's no possible way for her to survive. She had to exsanguinate." She took a deep breath. "I have studied the sample contribution containing Joanna and Brady's DNA and I concur that she was alive when the donation occurred. However, I can say with some certainty that it was not consensual. There was blood tissue in that sample. There was none in the second sample with the unknown female donor."

"Thank you Kate," Ranger straightened. "This means we have two murders on our hands and we know they're sloppy. This one was even sloppier than the last. They left DNA. They either don't think they will be caught or they believe they won't be prosecuted. We have to assume that we're dealing with extremely unstable personalities at this point. We also have to assume that Joanna will not be their last victim. We have to assume that they have their eye on someone else, either another female, or if Stephanie is right…they're looking for Jake."

"One more thing," Tank said. "SSD let me know they had the probable murder weapon. It was a kitchen knife. This murder wasn't planned. We don't believe Sandy's murder was planned either. I cannot say enough to convince you that these two suspects are highly unstable. We cannot begin to imagine what they're going to do next." He grinned at me. "Well, Stephanie probably can. It's what she does."

"Babe," Ranger raised a brow at me.

I got to my feet, "I know it's been a long day. And I know everyone is tired. Nap if you get a chance. Eat if you get a chance. Relax if you get a chance. It's only a matter of time before they find Joanna's body. I believe it will be on **Disney** property. Jack's people are currently searching those out of the way places all over the campus. Because I believe there is another cast member involved, the body drop could even been within the parks, but I doubt it." I sighed. "I still believe they're trying to find Jake. To them…for some reason, he represents something that kept them from being happy…or perhaps he was what they…" My voice trailed off. "I didn't see that. I friggin didn't see that."

"See what," Ranger frowned.

"The obsession wasn't Sandy," I shuffled through my notes. "Yes, he raped her. Yes he tried to ruin her life. But it wasn't about her. It was so they could get to Jake. Jake is the one they've been after all along."

"Whoa," Jack blinked, "slow down."

"What's standing in the way of Amanda being with Jake?"

"He was in love with Sandy," Ali said seriously.

"Right," I began to pace. "Sandy was in the way. What better way to get her out of the picture than to terrorize her. That's why he only raped her those two times and spent so much time terrorizing her. He was threatening Jake. We knew she was trying to protect him, we just didn't know to what extent. She probably did tell the girls that Jake was a problem. She wanted them to believe that she wasn't interested. She wanted him to come off as being a bad guy. She was trying to change Amanda's view of what she believed Jake was."

"Joanna has to be involved somehow," Natalie said seriously. "Sandy lied to both of them. She tried to convince both of them. She removed both of them from her **MySpace** account so they wouldn't know about Jake and she removed herself from his **Facebook** and him from hers."

I nodded, "you're right."

"But how deep in could she be if she's dead somewhere by the hand of the other two," Padma frowned.

"That's the $64,000 question, isn't it," I said thoughtfully.


	24. TTA22 24 Les Chefs de France

Janet has hers, I have mine. They sometime play nicely together, sometimes not. We make no monies.

* * *

"What's the plan tonight," Ranger asked as we stripped to get into the shower. We weren't that dirty, but I know I felt dirty dealing with another murder and all that complicated DNA contribution stuff...especially the sticky part.

"The plan is to meet Brian and Kate at **Les Chefs de France** at **EPCOT** for dinner and then get a really good night's sleep," I put my hand under the water to test the temperature and then stepped into the shower.

"But…"

"But I think we'll be lucky to make it through dinner before we get called to the body drop spot," I said honestly.

"I'd really rather you didn't go to the body drop," Ranger said tugging me against his body and just holding me still against him. "You're still in the first trimester of your pregnancy. You're fragile. I've already let you take too many risks."

"Let me," I craned my neck to look up at him.

"You know what I mean," he growled.

I sighed and relaxed against him, "I know what you mean. If we get the call, I'll stay back."

"Thank you," he sighed and rested his chin on my head. "So who has a thing for Jake? Is it Amanda or is it Brady?"

"Probably both," I said seriously.

"He's had a lot of women in his life…Brady," he reached for his shower gel with a sigh.

"True," I agreed. "But he didn't have healthy relationships. All of his relationships were violent. You know rape isn't about the sex, it's about control."

"I know," he nodded. "So you think it's both of them?"

"Yea," I nodded. "I think so."

"I'd be interested in getting Dr. Addison's take on that," Ranger said.

"I'll text him when we get out of the shower," I said seriously.

"Babe, after this can we go somewhere far away from people and just chill and enjoy ourselves. I mean can we go somewhere there aren't going to be any dead people or homicidal maniacs just for a little while."

"Do you know a place like that," I grinned up at him.

"Smart ass," he sighed. "How about that place in Hawaii we went after Boston?"

"Sure," I agreed. "That was a restful vacation."

"It was," he agreed. "And nobody turned up dead."

"Yea well, that was then, this is now."

"What do you mean," he asked.

"I think I'm getting more powerful," I admitted.

He stared at me for a moment and then sighed, "Duly noted."

"Thanks," I tried not to smile.

"We need to work on getting you able to harness these powers of yours."

"That would be a feat," I smiled to myself.

"Yea, in the meantime, you can just harness my powers," he reached for me and tugged me against him.

"Which powers are those," I looked up to meet his eyes just as I was nudged in the hip. "Oh those powers," I grinned. "I will do all I can to harness those."

Kate and Brian beat us to the restaurant. They had a table already in the quieter section of the restaurant.

"He is such a boy scout," Ranger said as he watched Brian pick up the menu Kate dropped on the floor. "You'd have never worked out with him."

"Ric," I gaped up at him.

His eyes darkened, "he's still the only threat I ever really had."

"Shut up," I glared at him and then sashayed to the table in front of him to punish him.

"You're in trouble," he muttered from behind me.

I just grinned. "Hi guys," I dropped into the booth and slid over so Ranger could get in. Brian and Kate were sitting in the chairs leaving Ranger and I against the wall…sort of. There was a window behind us to outside so we could see people's feet passing by.

"No good spot," Brian said apologetically.

"My wife keeps reminding me we're at **Disney World**. I do not need to constantly evaluate the threat."

"Well, maybe more than I thought," I said and picked up my menu. "Oh boy, this menu looks yummy. Eww…snails," I moaned and put my hand to my stomach.

"Not that yummy," Brian groused.

Kate grinned up at Ranger.

"Kids," Ranger shrugged.

I looked up to meet Brian's eyes with a slight smile, "Any cheeseburgers?"

"Nope," he grinned at me, "but it looks like a killer Mac n Cheese."

"Sold," I put my menu down and smiled sweetly at my husband. "You were saying dear?"

He winced, "nothing honey."

Kate laughed. "I'm leaning toward a salad and the salmon."

"Copy that," Ranger put his menu on top of mine.

"I'm sure," I rolled my eyes.

Ranger leaned over and kissed my ear, "do you want a spanking?"

"You and what Army," I hissed.

He narrowed his gaze on me, "is this because of the boy scout?"

"Is this because you're an ass," I raised a brow.

He sighed, "Later."

"Good plan," I agreed.

Most of the meal was pleasant enough. There were a few moments when they delivered our food that I thought Ranger was going to press the children issue since Brian and I had the mac and cheese and they had salmon, but he took a breath and let it go. He can be smart sometimes when it comes to relationships.

By the time we got to dessert, he'd relaxed more.

"What this meal called for and didn't get was a nice wine," Kate sighed.

"I miss wine," I sighed.

She laughed, "right now we all miss it."

"Why didn't you drink," I asked with a slight frown.

"Well, if your intuition is right and I've learned to believe it will be, then I'll be called to the body some time tonight and I'd rather have a clear head."

"And I appreciate that," Ranger nodded. "But you're right, a nice wine would have really made the meal."

"Stop with the wine. It will be forever before I can drink again."

"You can have a glass of wine during pregnancy," Kate said seriously. "It won't hurt either you or the baby. I mean, don't go crazy and drink a bottle. But a glass now and then won't cause any harm whatsoever."

Brian snorted and I kicked him under the table.

Ranger grinned at Brian.

"What," Kate asked.

"Stephanie doesn't do alcohol well," Ranger said with a smile.

"What," she frowned.

"He means that I can't hold my liquor. One glass of wine to me is like three to someone with a normal metabolism. And it makes no sense to me either. I can eat anything I want and metabolize it just fine, but add a little alcohol to the mix and I'm drunker than a skunk."

"So you don't drink much," she asked with a smile.

"No, not really," I shrugged. "I might have a glass or two making dinner and with dinner. But not really much more than that or I'll be on my ass."

"Perhaps its best that you refrain then," she nodded. "How did you do the distractions which I understand took place mostly in bars in that case?"

"I ordered gin and tonic, the bartender always skipped the gin," I shrugged. "He was always one of our guys."

"Smart," she nodded. "You guys think of everything."

"Not everything," I sighed, "or we'd have already solved this case."

"Okay, I'm no expert at this or anything, but I watch a lot of real life crime shows on TV," Kate grinned at the expression on Ranger's face. "From what I can tell, you guys do a great job. I mean in a place where the number of visitors that day was just over 44,000 plus the cast, I'd say with a suspect list that high…you've done a fine job."

"Holy crap, really over 44,000 people," I blinked at her.

"Yea," she grinned. "So you see, you've narrowed it down to 2 from like over 48,000 including cast. You're doing great."

"That is pretty good," I admitted with a laugh.

"We are that good," Ranger nodded.

"Without doubt," Brian agreed. He leaned forward, "I've been thinking about your theory and putting everything together with what I know from my own experience and I think what we have here is two people who are going to push each other to higher and higher limits."

"They're just getting started," Ranger asked.

"Left alone, they'd go on a killing spree," Brian said seriously. "That's my opinion based on evidence and experience."

"Then we need to find them fast and put a stop to it," Kate blanched.

"Yea, because after they get Jake, they'll start killing strangers and stranger murders are the hardest to solve," Brian said seriously.

"I feel that you're right," I sighed and sat back. "The bad thing is that we're kind of reliant on local law enforcement at this point to find them. They have the resources, man power, and not to mention rights to find them that we don't have. I mean without a clue as to where they are or where they're going, we're sitting sort of helpless here."

"We need more data," Kate said seriously.

"I'll get the check," Ranger said.

"I'll start working on searches of likely places they'd go," I nodded.

"Start with Idaho," Brian said seriously. "There are a lot of places to get lost in Idaho and a lot of people who wouldn't mind hiding out someone running from the 'man'," he put his air parenthesis around man with a sigh. "He's from there. He knows it. If I were him, I'd go there."

I nodded. "Good, that's a great place to start."

"Why did you leave the FBI," Kate asked him as the waitress dropped the checks on the table.

He laughed, "It wasn't my bliss."

"And this is," she blinked at him.

"You'd be surprised," he smiled.

"Interesting," she said thoughtfully and put her card down with their check. "That's really very interesting."

Back in 'mission control' I sat down at one of the computers with Kate beside me and explained what we had to do for in depth searches. I put her to work on Amanda thinking she'd be easier and went to work on Brady. Ranger and Brian went to check on Jake and hang out with him and give the guys on duty a little down time.

It was almost an hour before she said anything and I was honestly surprised that it took her that long.

"So this is his bliss," she said rather offhandedly.

"So it seems," I agreed gathering some papers from the high powered printer and sorting it into piles and giving Kate hers. I picked up a highlighter and marked through a couple of things and returned to my search.

"Is this your bliss," she asked.

"Ranger's my bliss," I looked up at her with a smile. I paused, "yea, I guess it is. I mean I feel useful. I feel like what I do makes a difference. It's not like selling lingerie to chain stores. I mean bras are useful, don't get me wrong," I laughed. "But now, I know I save lives with what I do. I can make a life so much better with so little effort. It's worth getting out of bed." I took a breath. "Granted other than the special cases I keep getting tossed into I haven't worked much at Rangeman full time for a while, but when I do I feel valuable to society."

She nodded.

"I am sure you feel that way, don't you? I mean you get to be there when a new life comes into the world. There can't be much cooler than that."

"It is cool," she agreed. "And it is my bliss."

"What's bugging you Kate," I asked.

"You know…he's gorgeous."

"You mean Brian," I raised a brow.

"Yea," she blushed.

"Yea, he is," I agreed with a laugh. "But don't tell Ranger I said so. Before we met, he was tailing me when I was working on a case…by myself really. I made him as a fed pretty quickly in his Crown Vic and shiny shoes. Granted his suits were a little better than the average G-man, but then you can just tell looking at him he was born with a silver spoon."

"Yea, you can," she laughed.

"I used to call him Agent Goodbody instead of Agent Goodman," I grinned.

She burst out laughing, "Yea…yea, I can see that."

"He's all long lean muscle," I said with a smile. "He's like a predatory cat. Not like Ranger…he's a lion. He's got to be king of the jungle. No, Brian's more of a Mountain lion. He's more a loner, stealthier and just as deadly when necessary."

"Yikes," she blinked.

"He's not a housecat," I said simply.

"Oh no, I didn't think that," she said seriously. "I just…"

"You're disappointed he's not a fed anymore? You know I dated him while he was a fed and to be honest he was a long way away and too busy to call for a good amount of that time. I would have been thrilled he was out of the FBI back in the day."

"Yea well, I am not sure how I feel," she said thoughtfully.

"Listen Kate," I said seriously, "you guys just met. If he's not what makes your merry go around, then don't worry about it. Let it go. It was a nice time in Florida and you'll have some good, I hope, memories of the time later. But it doesn't mean you have to get married and have kids. You know?"

"Yea, I know," she agreed. "He's just really, really hot."

I laughed, "Yea, he is." I sighed.

"What," she frowned.

"Do me a favor," I said softly and met her eyes pleadingly.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't break his heart. Just…be straight with him, okay?"

"You still love him?"

"I do love him," I admitted. "I'm not in love with him. But I do love him. He's done right by me in more ways than I'll ever be able to repay. So…don't hurt him. I am asking you."

She nodded and turned back to the computer. "I hear you."

I had just gotten my focus back on the task at hand when Ranger and Brian came into the room with grim expressions on their faces.

"Everybody," Ranger said quietly. "We have a body."

"Shit," I sighed.

"Tank is going to stay on Jake. Steph, you'll stay here. As for the ladies, I'm just going to need Kate and Connie. The rest of you stay back here, understood?"

The girls nodded.

He strode over to me and kissed me hard, "stay safe."

"Always," I whispered.

"No you don't," he said against my lips. "So…make it a point to do so now."

I smiled, "yes sir."

"Good," he gave me another hard kiss and straightened, "load up."


	25. TTA22 25 Catching Killers?

Janet Evanovich had the creativity, wisdom and foresight to create characters that generations would love and gravitate to. I am just smart enough to create characters that want to play with her characters. To be honest, usually the story writes itself. In spite of our combined brilliance, we will not make money off this story.

* * *

By the time everyone returned from the crime scene dawn had long since broken and breakfast was a distant memory. Most of us napped off and on. Padma full on slept and the girls encouraged me to do the same and I'll admit, I followed their orders pretty well.

Because of our pregnancy and their Wonder Woman status in Florida, the other women divided up determined to protect us lesser women. So Lula and Natalie parked it in my spare bedroom. Ali and Jess went with Padma. When they called Jess out just before dawn to bring the dogs out, they felt comfortable enough with just Ali with Padma. She is unmentionable after all. And she's a trained killer too. I'd have felt safe. In my room I could only be sure Lula and Natalie would squeal a potential killer to death.

I didn't even know when Ranger crawled up into bed with me. I was out. Pregnancy sure does make a girl tired.

I woke up nearing noon and took a breath that was slightly restricted since Ranger was wrapped around me pretty tight. I knew it had been bad then. He only held onto me that tight when something got to him. She must have been in pretty bad shape.

"Where are you going," He mumbled against my hair.

"Bathroom," I said softly.

"Okay," he loosened his hold and let me up.

I was in the shower, alone for a change when he joined me.

"I thought you were tired?"

"Did you really think I'd let you shower alone," he smiled and tugged me to him.

"How much sleep did you get," I asked.

"Enough," he evaded.

I shook my head, "that could be anything from 20 minutes to 4 hours."

"It could be," he smiled against my shoulder.

I shook my head with a sigh. "How bad?"

"Pretty bad," he sighed. "She had more than a hundred stab wounds mostly in her torso but some in her thighs, arms and head. From the depth and angle of the wounds we believe they both participated."

I nodded. "And they're accelerating."

"They like killing Babe," he said tiredly.

"You knew there were people like that in the world Ric. You've met a few of them face to face," I reminded him.

"Yea," he nodded. "When I've been on a government mission I've met some of them. I've met some of them on the streets in gangs and in war, but Babe…at Disney World? I mean, they seemed like a couple of fresh faced kids."

"Honey…he's just a couple of years younger than you," I reminded him.

"His maturity level suggests otherwise."

"True," I sighed.

"And she's just 24," he said quietly. "What makes a girl that age so violent?"

"Kate was doing her search. I'll look at what she's got and see if anything needs to be redone, but it looked like she was being thorough."

"SSD thinks they're still around here and I'm prone to agree with them."

"I agree. They won't leave until they deal with Jake or get him to come along."

"You think they'll rape him?"

"Oh yea," I nodded. "They're sick people honey. They want to inflict damage. In their minds he's scorned them."

He nodded. "Okay, shower and let's get this done."

"Amen," I agreed.

When I walked into the control room, everyone was quiet and some of them were pale. I knew everyone was pretty tired. They'd put in a long night and some had very little sleep. I squeezed Kate's hand as I went by since she looked paler than most. Then I raised a brow at Connie to check on her as I went by and she gave me a thumbs up. Being a mafia princess did have its benefits.

I started leafing through the notes Kate and I collected while Ranger conferred with Tank and Jack in the corner. Then he moved into position and I put them down to concentrate on the influx of information I was about to receive.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "there is no good news at this point. I wish there was. Joanna was murdered shortly after 5PM 2 days ago. That was the day we interviewed Amanda. She had the early shift at The Magic Kingdom and then went home. She was raped," he paused for control, "and sodomized by Brady and by an object." He sighed and waited for everyone to get control. "She was stabbed approximately 129 times," he raised a brow at Kate and she nodded. "And beaten before and during," he paused again. "It was not an easy death. Brian, using his years of expertise with FBI believes they are just at the edge of going on a killing spree. He's conferred with sources at the bureau who confirm his profile. I can not stress to you enough that these two people are dangerous. They are not sophisticated so we can't even begin to know how they're going to react or what they're going to do. But considering how they've upped the ante from Sandy to Joanna, I'd say it will be big and we're sitting smack in the middle of a place that gets 100,000 visitors a day."

"You think they may go into one of the parks and open fire," Jack frowned.

"I don't think anything is impossible."

"I'll up my security," Jack left the room with his phone out.

"Stephanie…you think they want Jake?"

I looked back at Brian who nodded slightly and then turned back to Ranger with a sigh, "yes. I do."

"To kill him," he asked.

"Or to pull him into their circle," I agreed. "To them it's the best case scenario."

"Will they continue to kill if he joins them," he asked.

"I don't…," I turned back to Brian.

"Brian," Ranger asked, "will they?"

"Yes," he nodded. "They have a thirst for it now. He's just their missing piece. If he participates he will get to live. But he'll have to participate in everything from their sexual activity to the killing."

"There is no way to stop them from continuing on this path at this time in your best opinion."

"The course is set," Brian said grimly. "They can only be stopped by prison or a bullet."

Ranger sighed and nodded.

"Where was she dumped," I asked quietly.

"Jack," Ranger raised a brow when he returned to the room.

"What was the question?"

"Where exactly was she dumped?"

His jaw clenched, "she was dumped in a swamp area just on the other side of the **Big Thunder Mountain Railroad**."

"So…by the **Magic Kingdom**," I raised a brow.

He nodded.

"Then they're still somewhere near the **Magic Kingdom**, if not in the park itself."

"We have cameras everywhere there," Jack said reaching for his phone. "If they're in the park, we can spot them."

"They're there," I said quietly. "They're there."

"How do you know," he asked.

"Tingle," Ranger asked.

"Throbbing tingle," I nodded.

Jack murmured into the phone, "What do we do if we find them?"

"We start slowly clearing the park," Ranger said. "As a matter of fact, there's a severe thunderstorm heading this way. The rain clouds are threatening."

"Everyone but the locals are probably leaving the park anyway," Jack agreed and punched buttons on his phone. "Yea, we're down to less than 20,000 people."

"We need to discreetly keep people leaving," he said.

"Okay," he left the room again.

"There's no way to clear the park without them realizing it," I said seriously.

"I know," he nodded.

The door flung open and Tank staggered into the room.

"Oh my God," Lula screamed and ran for him.

"He's been shot," Gabe said and pulled at Tank's bloody shirt, "oh thank God, he had on a vest."

"What," Lula blinked up at him as she cradled Tank's head.

"He's just got the wind knocked out of him," Kate said taking his pulse. "The bullet didn't make it through the vest. He's got some superficial cuts, but I'd say when he comes to he's going to be more pissed than hurt."

"You know that's right," Cal said grimly.

"They have Jake," I whispered.

"Do you think they're still in the building," Ranger asked.

I nodded.

"Floor to floor," he shouted. "Let's go. Ladies, you're here and you don't open that door for anyone, got me?"

I nodded. The men drew their weapons and disappeared leaving the women with Tank.

Ali and Connie twisted the extra lock on the door and moved some furniture over in front of the door and we waited. We waited for Tank to regain consciousness and we waited for resolution.

Tank came to first. He regained consciousness with a roar of fury. He moved the table easily and kissed Lula and headed off with vengeance in his eyes.

"Damn, that was sexy," she muttered with her fingers against her lips.

I just laughed.

Tank had barely been gone five minutes when the door swung open again and there stood Amanda, in her full princess Ariel costume…no tail, she was a girl not a mermaid. And beside her was Brady. I thought he was dressed as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.

He shoved Jake into the room. "You can start here," he said as his arm wrapped around Jake's waist and his lips moved against his neck.

I had a really bad feeling about what 'start here' meant.

"That one is pregnant," Jake said quietly as he pointed at Padma.

"A hole is a hole," Brady laughed against his neck and kissed the spot. "You're ours now. Do what we tell you to do and you'll be rewarded. You'll get to live and you'll get us and not that vanilla missionary sex you got from Sandy."

I saw Jake stiffen. I saw the fury in his eyes. I knew he was about to do something stupid. I met Ali's eyes and she shook her head with a smile. She looked…smug. I almost relaxed in that moment.

It only took seconds really. I flipped a table and the girls crouched behind it, well except for Ali and she was off. She tumbled through the air dodging hands, knives and gunshots. The idiots were concentrating only on her, so they weren't even watching us. Insane people? What are you gonna do? Within seconds they were flat on their back, their weapons were far away and they had majorly dazed looks on their faces.

"I need cuffs or ropes or something," Ali said.

I jumped up and went to one of the bins and pulled out the plastic zip cuff bag and hurried to her. She got them trussed up pretty quickly while Lula gathered their weapons.

"You're a major badass," I said seriously. "How did you do that?"

"I wasn't where they thought I was," she said quietly. "I can project my image somewhere other than where it is."

"You mean like, Mitch can blend and you can…wow…"

"Yea, cool right," she grinned.

"Very cool," I agreed as the guys slammed into the room.

Jake was sitting on the floor just staring ahead.

"What the…," Jack blinked.

"Skills," I said with a grin and patted Ali on the back. I knew she didn't want me to share her special skill with anyone, but I knew she'd be willing to admit she had skills.

"Really…skills," Mitch walked over and looked down at her hands. "Kate, we could use your expertise here."

Kate walked over and saw Ali's hands bleeding.

"Oh my God," I whispered, "I didn't even see your hands."

She shrugged, "I got a little close to Ariel Barbie's knife. I'm fine cousin."

I nodded.

SSD joined us within minutes and all parties quickly agreed that they would take Brady and Amanda into custody. The Disney jail was nice, but not really designed for real criminals. Jack said he'd have to push the budget to get a couple of cells up to speed whether the powers that be liked it or not.

I squatted down on the floor in front of Jake. "Hey…are you okay?"

He nodded.

I sat down beside him. "Where's your head Jake?"

He looked up at me with miserable bloodshot eyes, "is this my fault? Is Sandy dead because of me?"

"Oh honey no," I shook my head and scooted closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. I sighed. "Look, unfortunately there are just some people in this world that were born bad. Brady and Amanda were born bad. Both of them have been in trouble off and on since they were born. Brady was kicked out of kindergarten for fighting. Amanda was expelled from second grade for fondling the boys."

He gaped at me.

"They had troubles. It was hidden. They had rich parents who managed to cover most of it up and a normal background check would have never revealed Amanda's true nature, but it did reveal Brady's. Separate, they were…scary. Together, they were dangerous. Who they were…are…deep inside was exposed and they got off on it. You know?"

He just stared at me.

Brian dropped in front of him and sat cross legged and tapped his leg. "I was a federal agent for eight years Jake. What she's telling you is true. There is nothing you could have done to stop this. If they hadn't killed Sandy, it would have been someone else you knew…maybe your family. They…people like them, they have to break down their victim to possess them. Eventually, they would have killed everyone you ever cared about and it had nothing to do with you. It was all them."

"But…if I…"

"Don't," I said seriously and took his hand, "look at me Jake." I waited till he met my eyes. "You can torture yourself forever with what ifs. Don't do it. You find a good therapist and if you don't know one, you haul your ass up to Trenton with us and we'll set you up with the best one I know. Hell, he fixed me, he can fix you."

A small smile cracked his face. "Come back to Trenton with us," I looked over at Ranger. "You know these guys own Sizzlin," I waved at Tank and Ranger.

He gaped at them and Tank laughed.

"Natalie's been working on a new men's line. You can see Dr. Addison and work for them in some capacity, right?"

"Oh hell yea," Natalie grinned. "You can be the face…so to speak…of our men's underwear line."

Ranger grinned. "You're a good looking kid."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Trenton New Jersey," he sighed. "Is this what I've become?"

Cal bent down, "if my wife looks at you with glee one more time you'll wish."

Jake laughed, "Get used to it. Women look at me like that…men too."

Cal straightened with a grin, "we can keep him."

"He's not a kitten," I rolled my eyes.

"Wait till Hector gets eyes on him," Mitch grinned.

"Hector," Jake asked.

"Great guy," Manuel pulled him to his feet. "Used to be in some gang, killed some people. Now he does work at Rangeman and he's a bad ass. He's also gay. But don't worry, he won't touch you without permission."

Jake shook his head, "I thought Orlando was more progressive than Idaho."

"Yea, get ready for a world you never thought you'd find," Woody dropped an arm around him. "Come on kid. Let's get you something to eat and we'll talk about it."

"Wait for me," Natalie chased after them. "He's my model."

Ranger shook his head, "what just happened here?"

"Dealing with the aftermath of death for one innocent soul," I said with a slight smile.

He hauled me to my feet. "Good job Babe."

I shrugged.

"How much of this are you responsible for," he frowned and waved his arms around the destroyed conference room. "Do I need to remind you that you're incubating my enormous progeny in your tiny womb again?"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, "you do not. Ali did it all…oh and then Lula collected the weapons."

Ranger's eyes widened and he looked at Tank, "search your woman and make sure she didn't keep any souvenirs."

"I'm on it," he stalked toward Lula.

"What," she blinked at him wide-eyed.

Ranger pulled me into his arms and I heard him sigh just as Lula squealed.

I giggled. I was so grateful that some things never changed.


	26. TTA22 26 Kicking Back

I have taken some poetic license with some characters owned by the delightful Janet Evanovich. I have changed their basic outlook on life, introduced color into their wardrobes and brought personality into their sometimes boring or sidekick placed lives.

I make not a thin dime, and neither does she.

* * *

As exhausted as everyone was, it was still a long time before the local police were gone and **Disney** was pretty much back to being **Disney**. I had to give my statement to law enforcement and naturally we turned over any evidence we had collected to Jack. He chose to loan most of it to SSD since Seminole County had agreed to take on the prosecution of Brady and Amanda. Not that there would be much of a trial. We had them hands down and they were confessing gleefully to their wrong doings.

By late afternoon I was on the phone with my parents and they met Bobby and Lester at Lucille's house and let them know the persons who had killed their baby girl was caught and would be punished to the full extent of the law. Lucille cried. My Mom did too. At least that's what my Dad said.

Again, I had no idea what time Ranger came to bed. I was out like a light. A little trauma makes a girl exhausted when she's carrying a baby. I needed rest. I was pretty sure Padma did too.

When I did get up, Ranger didn't even stir which shocked the hell out of me. That meant two things, he was totally exhausted and he trusted me. I don't know which of those things made my heart turn over more.

Natalie showed up at about ten the next morning with chocolate croissants and caffeine free lattés. Does this girl know her BFF or what?

"Come on in," I grinned and took the coffees from her. "You are a goddess, you know that right?"

"I do know that," she grinned. "Where's Ricardo? Is he still out?" She sat on the couch and curled up and opened the pastry bag. "Cal was so gone that I got up, took a shower and dressed and he didn't even budge."

I laughed, "so freaking aware of their surrounds."

"I know," she raised a brow. "Do you think we're a bad influence on them?"

We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Nah,"I shook my head and sipped the delicious brew.

"Are you over the case or do you want to decompress?"

"I thought nobody would ever ask," I straightened with a grin.

"Okay, I know we think or suppose that Sandy cut both girls from her life because of the rape and because she was distancing herself from everyone and everything she thought was even remotely involved, right?"

"Right," I nodded and bit into a croissant and moaned.

She grinned. "So here's the thing…how did she know that Amanda was involved? Did she know?"

"I've been thinking about that," I said seriously. "We know that Brady and Joanna split about six months ago, right?"

"Right," she nodded.

"So our assumption is that Brady took up with Amanda then. It makes sense."

"You know, girls need a girl code like guys do," Natalie winced. "I mean, no girl should take her BFF's ex."

"No shit," I agreed with a sigh.

"So you think Sandy knew that Brady and Amanda were doing it," she grinned.

I laughed, "Yea, I think so. I mean, Amanda would have to tell someone. She couldn't tell Joanna or her neat little world was going to go to hell in a hand basket and her psycho behavior wouldn't have manifested itself the way it eventually did. So Amanda tells her other BFF that she's doing Brady. Then when Brady rapes her, she has to ditch both of the girls."

"Yea, that makes sense."

"We may never know the whole truth," I said sadly. "Unfortunately for us Sandy didn't keep a diary where she wrote all of her intimate thoughts down so we could see how her mind worked. We had to look at the evidence and sort out the possibilities and probabilities ourselves. It's a pain in the ass, but it is what it is."

"So why did she let them back in her life again," Natalie frowned. "Why go back to meeting them for lunch on Friday? Do you think Brady had a hand in that?"

"I think it's more likely that she was taking her life back. If she had an inkling that Jake was getting ready to propose to her, she could have been tying up loose ends. He mentioned they would leave Florida if they got engaged."

"Oh," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe she blamed them and she was trying to prove to them that they weren't winning. You know, the best revenge is living well."

"You may be on to something there," I nodded. I ate the last bite of my croissant. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Nah," she shook her head.

"Cool, then let's just hang out till the guys come around."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.

At a little after noon I was sitting in the living room whispering with Natalie and giggling as we did our nails when he stuck his head out the bedroom door. "Hey Natalie," he smiled sleepily.

"Hey Ricardo," she smiled and got up. She walked over and kissed his cheek. "See you later Steph."

"You don't have to go," he said with a confused frown.

"Sure I do," she grinned. "If you're awake, then Cal can't be far behind." She winked and walked out the door.

He waited for her to leave and then came and sat beside me on the couch. He leaned over and kissed my head. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you," I asked.

"Good…still tired, but good."

"I bet you're hungry," I grinned.

"Starving," he admitted.

I got up and went into the kitchen and pulled out the food I'd ordered for him earlier and a bottle of water.

"Grilled chicken salad," I said handing him the plate and a fork. "There's Fat Free Italian dressing in that little thingy there."

"It's perfect," he sighed opening the lid on the salad.

I popped the bottle of water and put it on the coffee table in front of him. I let him eat in silence. I had grown enough as a person to be able to be still and let him have silence every now and then. And I knew he absolutely deserved some silence right then.

He finished eating and I took the plate to the kitchen and threw it away along with the heavy duty plastic fork. I got a couple more bottles of water and returned and sat back down beside him.

"Better?"

"Much," he agreed and took a big drink from the second bottle of water.

"How much more has to be done?"

"Not much. Manuel cleaned the evidence van with Gabe's help. And Manuel says Gabe has a grossly overwhelming nose for detail so he definitely chose the right job for himself. Someone from Miami is on their way to get the van. Mitch took care of dismantling the evidence room with Cal. Tank and I spent most of our time with Jack and the sheriff's department. Woody and Brian helped Jack's office catalog the evidence so he could turn it over to the sheriff with a good chain of evidence trail."

"And the girls," I asked.

"Well, Padma and you were sent to bed."

"And I don't know about her, but I'm grateful," I said and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"You're welcome. Connie helped Manuel and Gabe with the van for a while and then Woody sent her to bed. Kate helped with the evidence and the rest of the girls helped Cal and Mitch with the room. You can't even tell we were there. We donated the boards and such to a local children's center along with those extra laptops after Gabe cleaned them. We were a hit."

"I know you were," I laughed. "Oh…," I blinked, "speaking of children. I got a call from Val. She put Julie down in Angie's class and said she was sending you a bill and as long as you paid it Julie was in."

"Thank God," he groaned. "That's one less thing to worry about."

"I told her the check would be hefty."

"You know me so well," he smiled. "Are you sure you're up for this? I mean she's almost a teenager. She's going to get lippy soon and you're going to have a toddler at the same time. It's not going to be easy Babe."

"Very little that's easy is worth having, is it," I reminded him. "Ric, I want her with us. I do. I have no doubt that this is the right move for our entire family including her mother."

He leaned over and kissed me and rested his head against mine for a moment, "I love you. If I was Jake right now, I would be… I understand where the kid is at."

"Me too," I nodded.

"And I think you're amazing to tell him to come to Trenton and to adopt him into our family…so to speak."

"So to speak," I agreed.

"You're not trying to find another guy to take over for Mitch, are you?"

"Ass," I rolled my eyes.

"I mean he's a good looking kid and all, but he's a little young for you, don't you think?"

"He's twenty-six," I gaped at him. "It would hardly be cradle robbing."

"Ha, I knew it," he grinned.

"You are such an ass," I got up with a flounce. "Fine, be that way! I won't tell you what we're doing tonight then."

He got up to chase me, "you'll tell me."

I squealed and ran.

We had dinner as a unit at **ESPN** because we all just wanted to go somewhere loud where we could cut loose and not worry about anything having to do with the case at hand.

Ranger and I shared some overtime fries with chili and cheese as an appetizer. He actually ate almost half of it. I'm not sure, but I think this pregnancy is hitting him in the temple. He knew it too. Even though he'd stop and look at each forkful of decadent fried potato with chili and cheese, he couldn't stop himself. It was weird…in a very good way.

Tank noticed it over his wings, but didn't say a word. But it was almost as though he measured each bite Ranger took as everyone talked.

Then to really flip me out he ordered a Cuban cheeseburger and I had the mahi, I know Tank didn't take real notes, he didn't have a pen. But somewhere in that steel trap of a brain, he noted what was happening. Then we ordered dessert. Ranger shared dessert with me. It was a truly decadent rocky road chocolate concoction and I'm pretty sure he ate more than I did.

We left the restaurant for a walk along the boardwalk. We'd take a boat to the **Magic Kingdom** from there and then we had a lot of options as to how to get to our resort from there. I was thinking I needed the walk. I was thinking Ranger needed it even more than I did.

"I know everyone is avoiding talking about it, but is it all right if I ask a question or two," Kate began.

Ranger laughed, "Sure…hit us."

"Okay, first question…Stephanie, how did you know there was a body on TTA to start with?"

I debated how to answer the question. Since I knew she wasn't into Brian that much and probably wouldn't be around as much as I'd originally thought, I decided to temper my answer. "When we went around the first time, I felt like there was something wrong with what I'd seen and I told Ranger."

"And how did you react to that," Cal chuckled.

"Not happily," he groused.

Everyone laughed.

"We are on our freaking honeymoon," he barked and grumbled under his breath.

I snuggled against his arm. "It's okay honey."

"Okay, so you found the body and you reported it and I'm actually following everything until…"

"Until…," Mitch asked.

"Until you guys started putting your suppositions together. I mean, anyone in law enforcement would have made Jake the prime suspect and it would have taken a lot of digging to remove him from that position, but it just didn't seem like he was your number one suspect even at the beginning."

I sighed.

"Babe," Ranger cocked a brow at me.

I took a deep breath, "you know how you've been delivering babies for a while now right. So you check your patient and you say…'you're dilated so far and I think you'll have the baby in ten days'?"

"Yea," she nodded.

"How much of that is based on knowledge?"

"What," she frowned.

"How much of your estimation of when the baby is born is based on knowledge and how much on other factors?"

"Oh," she frowned. "Well, some is knowledge. I don't know, I just have a gut feeling and it's almost always right."

"For me, crime is like that. I have a gut feeling. And like you, it's almost always right. I haven't always trusted it in the past…nor has everyone else, but now we all know to trust my instincts. Does that make sense?"

"It does," she nodded.

"Any more questions," Ranger asked.

"How in the hell did Ali dismantle those two psycho maniacs and live through it and nobody got hurt aside from a small cut on each of her hands?"

Ali laughed.

"I know you just started working for Rangeman."

"That's true, but I'm a tenth degree black-belt, I was a navy seal, and I'm very bendy. I'm a badass."

I laughed.

"I cannot dispute that," Kate agreed with a sigh. "Okay. So the basic gist of it is that you're all highly trained professionals who have actually taken what you've learned over time and begun to apply it to your work to have a greater success rate."

"Yea, just like that," Ranger agreed and helped me climb onto the boat.

"So…Rangeman," Tank began as he and Lula stepped onto the boat behind us with everyone else in line behind them.

"Yes," he said without even turning around. He found us some seats at the back of the boat and let me scoot in first.

"I've known you for a lot of years." Tank dropped to the bench on the other side of the aisle after showing Lula to the inside seat.

"Yep," he agreed.

"I've never seen you put chili cheese fries in your mouth before, and I would have bet my life that you never would have. But just to make sure that I knew we weren't in Kansas anymore, you followed it with a cheeseburger and a chocolate cake thing."

Ranger nodded with a grin, "and you know what Tank…it was fucking fantastic. I had no idea that food could taste that good. You have got to try it."

Tank looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

Brian cracked up laughing, "you know what this is, don't you Ranger?" He said as he leaned against the pole in the aisle.

"Yep…baby bump eating," he grinned. "If I can keep her pregnant, I can eat like this forever."

"Or until your arteries harden and you have a heart attack and die," Kate muttered.

"I heard that," Ranger called to the front of the boat.

"At least he's still got his hearing," Gabe said seriously.

"He's got more than that," I assured them as the boat left the dock.

Natalie laughed.

"This is actually really good news for us," Cal said to Natalie. "Now we can try some of our favorite recipes on them."

"Oh yea," Natalie said gleefully. "Hear that Stephanie, dinner at our place the first time we get a chance when we get back. Ricardo, prepare to have your taste buds amazed."

"I'm there," he said cheerfully and waved his hand in the air.

"And pie," Cal muttered to Natalie.

"Bring it on," Ranger grinned and turned to look out the window at the passing scenery. The moment the boat docked he stepped off the back and scooped me up over his shoulder and hauled ass toward the resort. "See you guys tomorrow. I'm going to take my honeymoon back right now."

Everyone cheered and clapped as he raced us back to our room with me laughing over his shoulder.

Hours later, and I must emphasize that none of that time was spent sleeping we finally collapsed back against the headboard breathing and relaxing. Yeah, you're jealous and you should be.

"Feel better," I asked.

"I feel like I've taken part of my life back," he sighed and scooted down the bed to nibble on my stomach. "This is what I wanted."

"This," I smiled as my fingers sifted through his hair.

He lifted his head and rested his chin lightly on my stomach and smiled, "yes, this. Just you and me," he kissed my stomach, "and the bean."

"And soon Julie," I said with a smile.

"And soon Julie," he sighed and laid his head on my belly. "All that time ago when we first crossed paths, I never imagined that someday we'd be here and all of my dreams would have come true."

"Yea," I whispered as tears filled my eyes. "But you're so good about keeping your someday promises. You shouldn't be surprised."

"No," he smiled up at me.

"No," I agreed with a happy sigh. "So you're happy?"

"Yea," he sighed. "I'm happy Babe. I'm not content. I'm not satisfied. I'm happy. Imagine that."

I nodded vigorously because I didn't even realize he couldn't see me over the haze of my tears.

He looked up and frowned and sat up and wiped the tears from my cheeks, "what's wrong?"

"You're happy," I choked out.

"That's bad," he asked.

"No," I sobbed and threw my arms around his neck and bawled.

"Babe," he frowned.

"It's good," I wrapped around him tighter and crawled up in his lap. "I love you. God, I love you so much. I am so happy that you're happy."

"Is this about hormones," he asked softly.

I sighed, "No. I'm just happy."

"I think that's how we're supposed to be," he said softly and stroked my back.

"I know," I sighed and relaxed. I leaned back and looked up at him. "All those years ago, a life like this wasn't even on my radar. A life with you wasn't on my radar. You were a guy…you were a guy to dream about, but not to have. And now, the dreams I was too afraid to dream have all come true.

He leaned down and kissed me. "Mine too Babe," he whispered against my lips, "You're the dream I never hoped to have."

It was a long time before we slept that night.


	27. TTA22 27 Suprises, Thanks & Rushing

You guys know she owns them. This is her fan fiction site, right. You know I'm not getting paid. Let's leave it at that.

* * *

It was a little after nine o'clock when the loudest banging on our outer door could be heard.

Ranger grunted and tugged me closer.

I shook my head and pulled away from him and headed for the door pulling his tee shirt on over my naked ass.

"This better be important," I growled as I flung the door open.

Lula fell on me enveloping me in a hug with Tank right behind her and soon wrapping around both of us.

Ranger appeared in the bedroom door in his shorts and bed head and a not so sweet expression on his face. "What in the hell is going on?"

"We're gonna have a baby," Lula squalled.

I blinked in shock. "You are? You're pregnant."

"No…not specifically," she wailed.

"Tank," I looked up at him in confusion with a pleading look on my face.

"Stephanie Plum Manoso," Ranger growled and stalked across the room and pulled me out of Lula's arms. "Go put some damn clothes on."

"What," I blinked up at him.

"I can see your ass. If I can see your ass Tank will be able to see your ass," he pulled the shirt down. "Change…now!"

"Grouch," I stuck my tongue out at him and walked carefully back to the bedroom.

Connie and Woody appeared in the doorway behind Tank and Lula.

"They told you," Connie asked.

"Told me what," Ranger frowned.

"You better wait for me," I yelled from the other room.

"You heard the lady," Connie grinned as Kate and Brian joined them.

By the time I emerged from the bedroom with shorts and a tee shirt on and my wild hair pulled up in a pony tail, our whole crowd was in the room.

"What is going on," I blinked.

"Connie has offered to carry a child for us," Lula said tearfully. She barely managed to get the words out before wrapping her arms around Connie and bawling some more.

"Oh honey, that's great," I said tearfully and went to hug both women and rub Lula's back gently. "What does that entail?"

"That entails getting Lula on some fertility shots, and then we'll harvest some of her eggs," Kate said with a grin. "Then the big guy gets to make a nice contribution into a cup."

"How romantic," Ranger cracked.

"Shut up asshole," Tank grinned.

Kate laughed, "Then we'll put the egg and the contribution together. If they fertilize, we'll implant Connie. Now Connie will have to take some shots for a while too. That will make it more likely to take. But Lula, you have to understand this almost never happens on the first try. The average successful embryo implant takes more than once and up to four times if…if it's going to be successful at all. Connie's already a patient of mine and her alkali is good. She's healthy. She's under 35, there's a good chance it will take the first or second time if we get on it quickly."

"Better hurry Kate," Connie sighed. "I'm 34 this year."

"We'll start the treatment as soon as we get back to Trenton, on both of you."

I walked over and sank down on Ranger's knee. He was sitting at the dining table just taking it all in.

"You need to think about this too Connie," I said with a smile. "You and Woody talked about making it official soon. If you wait too long people will think you two put the cart before the horse. Your daddy won't appreciate that. He may think less of Woody for it."

"Oh Jesus," Connie groaned.

"We can go to Vegas baby," Woody grinned. "Just put that ring on my finger."

She laughed.

"Or you could do it here, like we discussed. I mean, we could get your families here pretty quickly, couldn't we?" I looked back at Ranger when I finished my sentence.

"Hell yeah," he grinned. "We can do this."

"Or," Jack smiled from the doorway, "you could allow us to help."

"Hey Jack," Ranger grinned.

"Hey Ranger," Jack smiled. He turned to Connie and Woody, "want to do it?"

Woody glanced at Connie, "oh yeah. We want to do it."

He pulled his phone out, "I need a wedding planner in the Manoso suite immediately."

Connie's mouth dropped open.

"It's on," Natalie said gleefully.

The wedding planner that they called wasn't just any old wedding planner. She was the chief wedding planner. Jack's boss really appreciated how we'd handled everything and told him to give us anything we wanted. Cost did not matter. He didn't know Connie, but it didn't matter anyway. She didn't go crazy.

A travel coordinator also showed up to help get the list of guests that would need transportation to the resort and in the thick of it all was our liaison Karen doing her thing to make sure everything went smoothly and everyone worked together.

It was a whirlwind. By seven o'clock that night, the wedding invitations had been emailed. Phone calls had been made to all the guests. Connie had been fitted for a dress. Lula, Natalie and I had been fitted for dresses. Woody, Tank and Ranger had been fitted for tuxes and Manny had been measured in Trenton and the tux was being prepared. The flowers were ordered. The cake was ordered. The dinner was settled on. The guest list was finalized and the seating chart completed. I'm telling you, if I was getting married again (and I'm not) I would call this woman to do the planning. She was a whirlwind.

The most minute details were being considered and all Connie or Woody had to do was point at a picture, and it was done. It was kind of Weddings for Dummies, but with a **Disney** theme. Connie and Woody didn't mind. Doing it this way meant there wasn't the typical back and forth arguing between the families on how to do things. And in Connie and Woody's case, there was less arguing than ever since his family was coming in from Oklahoma and they wouldn't expect anything too fancy to begin with. Connie appreciated it because her mother and her aunts always argued about anything to do with her. She was an only child and spoiled…by everyone.

They served us dinner outside in the rose garden that night and we were in place for the fireworks. While the fireworks went off I looked around and took stock of our little group. Connie and Woody were nuzzling. Tank and Lula were practically making out. Natalie and Cal were in awe of the fireworks. Ali and Mitch were leaning against the rail side by side pointing things out and grinning at each other. Padma and Gabe were nearby. Gabe leaned against a light post with Padma against him and his hands on his wife's burgeoning belly. Manuel and Jess were nowhere to be found, which I found highly amusing. But what broke my heart was Kate chatting with the caterer while the fireworks went off and Brian sitting at a table by the water alone just staring at the dark water.

I sighed.

"What," Ranger asked.

I pointed.

"Cheer him up, but don't run off with him."

"Ass," I stuck my tongue out at him.

He swatted at my ass as I walked away. He was sure of me. It was good.

I dropped into the chair by Brian, "hey."

"Hey," he said not looking at me.

"What's up? You not into fireworks," I said with a smile.

He shrugged.

I sighed and leaned against his arm. "You know, I know that you're an incredible man. You're hot. You're successful and you're really good in bed."

He snorted.

"That's how I know that soon…very soon the right girl is going to come along and sweep you off your feet and it will be all over."

"I thought you were going to be the right girl," he said quietly.

"Then you know it wasn't Kate," I said with a smile. "She's your rebound girl. Besides, she doesn't appreciate you. There's something wrong with her if she doesn't appreciate you." I linked my arm through his.

"Is he okay with this," he nodded toward Ranger.

"He told me not to run off with you," I grinned.

"I had my chance," he sighed.

"You probably really didn't," I said seriously.

"I know," he smiled and kissed my head.

"But if it makes you feel any better, you're still the only man he feels threatened by."

"Actually," he grinned at me, "it does."

I laughed. "The right girl will come along Brian. I meant what I said about how great you are. If you need me give her references, just let me know. I'll tell her all about how talented your tongue is."

"Oh dear God," he blushed and looked up to see Ranger scowl at him. He tugged his arm away from me, "are you trying to get me killed?"

"No, I'm trying to make you understand that she's not good enough for you."

He looked at me in surprise.

"If she doesn't see you…you and accept you as you are, she doesn't deserve you and she has really unrealistic expectations about men because baby, you're cream of the crop," I grinned.

He relaxed in the chair for a second, "thanks Steph. You're a good friend."

"I know," I beamed up at him.

"Come on," he got to his feet and hauled me up. "Let's go hang out with Ranger. If we're all three together I'm less likely to die."

I laughed and linked my arm through his, "we'll see."

"Such a bluebird of happiness," he sighed.

We joined Ranger at the rail and he tugged me into his arms and winked at Brian over my head. I don't know if he meant for me to see it or not, but I did and I was grateful.

When the fireworks were over I grinned up at Brian.

"What," he frowned.

"I have another cousin, on the Mazur side."

"Full Hungarian," he raised a brow.

"Hungarian and French," I waggled a brow. "She's gorgeous with long black curling hair and big blue eyes…like mine. She's way curvier and when she walks into the room men begin to pant."

"Yea," he rolled his eyes. "That's just the kind of woman I usually attract."

"Don't sell yourself short. I'm pretty good at this matchmaker thing. The only one I've failed with so far is Mitch and as you know I had a head injury at the time. Look around cowboy, I hooked quite a few of these couples up in one way or another."

Brian looked around and then back at Ranger and raised a brow.

Ranger grinned lecherously, "Her name is Katarina. She's smokin'."

"I will beat your ass," I growled up at him.

He grinned and Brian laughed.

"Fine, introduce us."

"Fine," I glared at Ranger one more time before turning back to him, "I will. I think a dinner party would be good. We'll invite couples and Katarina and it will be love at first sight for both of you. She'll be in town later on this summer."

"I shall look forward to it," he winked at me and strolled off whistling.

"Good job," Ranger said tugging me to his side as we strolled toward the entrance and our room. "What happened with Kate?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," I said with a sigh. "I guess in spite of everything, she just wasn't that into him."

"When did you find out?"

"She told me last night."

"Shows what I know," he said with a shake of his head. "I thought she was into him?"

"Me too," I frowned. "She seemed disappointed that he'd decided to leave the FBI. Maybe she prefers G-men or maybe she thinks he couldn't cut it or I don't know. But if she can't see how great he is, then screw her. He can find someone who deserves him more."

"Babe…it's a good thing I know you love me."

"Is it," I smiled.

"Yes, a lesser man…a less confident man would be pretty upset by your relationships with all these men."

"I have relationships with women too."

"And yet I never get to watch," he sighed heavily.

I elbowed him in the side. "You used to be so silent and mysterious."

He laughed, "Then you unleashed the real Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Be careful what you wish for Babe, you just might get it. I find that I don't even like being called Ranger that much anymore. I think I want people to call me Ricardo."

"Probably not gonna happen," I grinned.

"Probably not," he grinned back. "But you don't always call me Ranger."

"Nope," I agreed and wrapped my arms around his waist. "My family calls you Ricardo. Natalie calls you Ricardo. Your family calls you Ricardo. You're off to a good start."

"And soon I'll have a new permanent name."

"Yeah?"

"Daddy," he grinned.

"Yeah," I smiled. "You will."

"I'm going to like that one a lot," he smiled.

"I am too," I sighed and leaned against him. "It's my favorite."


	28. TTA22 28 A Disney World Wedding

Ms. Evanovich owns hers. I own mine. They mingle. They tingle. They…well, you know. I make nothing of intrinsic value.

Connie and Woody's wedding is based on a real possibility at **Disney World** complete with wedding planner, location, cake, dress, and special guests. This could be you.

* * *

I have to hand it to Connie, she knows what she likes. She knows what she looks good in and when she really wants something, she takes no prisoners and she suffers whatever she must to get what she wants. She stood still for more than an hour while they turned her into a princess. She knew it was Ariel's dress. And naturally she was a little reticent since Ariel had been most recently portrayed by that psycho Amanda, but what's a girl to do if it's THE perfect dress? I'll tell you what Connie did, she pfft'd it off. Yes, pfft'd. I'd try to explain it, but if you don't know what it is, it wouldn't matter anyway. The other dresses they showed us were pretty, but Ariel's had the bling and it fit her like a glove. She was gorgeous. She made the right choice.

The dresses she picked out for Lula, Natalie and I were pretty too. She chose a black form fitting strapless sheath. I worried for half a second that Lula would feel intimidated by the shape of the dress. I know, what was I thinking? She gasped with glee and shimmied into that dress and owned it. Frankly, I think she looked better in it that I did. Hopefully, my husband didn't agree.

There's this spot at the **Magic Kingdom** right in front of the castle where they put on shows when the park is open. That's where Lula and Woody chose to get married.

So the street in front of the castle was complete decorated for the wedding. There was an aisle with pretty chairs on either side draped in cream fabric. There were gorgeous pink and cream flowers lining the aisle and just to define it further, a pink carpet with crowns on it. The castle had a pale pink light shining on it making it fit with the wedding. Lula, Natalie and I carried pink and cream flowers. The same flowers surrounded the altar. It was gorgeous. It was a wedding for a princess. And well…Connie sure as hell fits that bill in more ways than one.

I went down the aisle first since Lula was Connie's matron of honor. I could have gone second and was originally supposed to, but when we did the rehearsal line up she wanted to match me with my husband since she wasn't able to do that with Lula. Lula was her matron of honor and Manny was Woody's best man. That meant Lula couldn't walk with Tank. She said that was fine. She understood it was Connie's day.

Lula was more reasonable than I've ever seen her. It could be because Connie had offered to carry her child.

As much as I complain that I'll be pushing out Ric's enormous progeny in about seven months, I have to say…Connie was going to be hurting more than I was. Really! I don't think she's thought about the fact that something Tank had part in creating was coming out her hoo-hah. Not to mention that the egg was coming from Lula who is not the most petite woman on the planet. I don't think she's really given enough thought about it at all. I know I've been thinking about it since Lula told me she was going to do it. I think Ric's been thinking about it too. He keeps opening his mouth to say something, but wisely thinks better of it before he inserts his size 13 foot right down his gullet.

Anyhoo…I digress. When the music started, the wedding coordinator genius sent me down the aisle. I took a couple of steps and looked around and was amazed at the number of people I saw there. I saw almost everyone I knew from Connie's family and quite a few people that had to be from Woody's side of the family. There were a large number of Rangeman employees there, at least all of the core group including Lester, Bobby and Hal. I hadn't expected them and it took everything in my power not to stop and hug them. I hadn't seen them in forever it seemed. I gave a slight finger wave from my waist where I was holding my flowers and grinned. Yes, I have control issues still.

Once I got a good look around my eyes drifted forward I saw Ric standing at the end of the aisle beside Tank and really, it was all I needed to motivate me to keep on moving. I didn't really remember our wedding. I have occasional little glimpses of it that jump into my head, but I don't remember it much even having seen the video that one time. But the beach in Cayman and in front of Cinderella's Castle (and wasn't that just apropos) at **Disney World** in the **Magic Kingdom** wasn't going to be easy to beat. In any case since we hadn't had our own real walk down the aisle, I was using our friends' weddings to sort of mentally recreate our wedding into something I wanted it to be. If our friends kept having real weddings and inviting us to participate, pretty soon we'd have a complete wedding by proxy…at least in my head. That's what I was going with anyway.

I stopped across from Ranger and smiled.

He winked at me and waggled his brow at my dress.

I struggled to control my giggle as Natalie came down the aisle and stopped across from Tank.

Lula was next, and she really did own that dress. No matter what I looked like, no matter what Natalie looked like (and let there be no mistake she was gorgeous) Lula really looked great. Lula can be intimidating in the right dress and that was totally the right dress. The look in Tank's eye was all the proof I needed.

Then the music changed and Connie started down the aisle. Along with the rest of the crowd, I turned to look and my mouth dropped open. I mean, I saw her before I started down the aisle and she looked good, but when she started down the aisle in that setting…she was breathtaking. Ranger's brow even went up. I would have been jealous, but heck if I swung that way I'd think about it. I glanced over at Woody and gasped at the expression on his face. He looked…possessive and proud and so much in love it took a person's breath away. I felt another little feeling of comfort settling over me. Once again, the stars were all aligned and I could feel it. I was where I was supposed to be with the people I was supposed to be with. All was right with the world.

Connie and Woody joined hands and turned to the man officiating the wedding and it began. The words were quickly spoken. The rings were carefully exchanged. The prayers were gently said. Then Woody caught Connie's face between his hands and kissed her so reverently that tears filled my eyes. She was his world. It was clear.

They hurried back down the aisle laughing and seeing only each other. That was how it was supposed to be.

Lula hooked her arm through Manny's and winked and Tank and followed behind them. Natalie took Tank's arm. He dwarfed her. Yea, he dwarfs most people, he really dwarfed Natalie.

Then I took Ranger's arm and followed them. I leaned into his body and put my cheek to his arm. "I love you," I whispered.

"Love you more," he murmured smiling at the crowd as we moved.

"Not a chance," I said happily.

Now, I have to say, I've been to some rocking Rangeman weddings in recent days and this one may have been one of the most joyous so far. That fact could be colored by the fact that I **know** my husband and I are in a good place for the first time attending one of these shindigs. Maybe I looked at it through different eyes. All I can say is, it was magnificent.

The food was incredible. We stood in the reception line for a while and I finally got to see the guys from the office.

"You're looking beautiful," Lester leaned down to kiss me as Marina hugged Ric.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," I admitted. "How are things?"

"As you can imagine running perfectly smoothly," he said smugly.

I laughed, "How long are you guys here?"

"Just tonight," he shrugged. "We fly out in the morning. Nobody wanted to miss Woody's big day though. It was worth it."

"I'm glad you're here. I know Woody is too."

"Tank says he has some stories to tell me when you guys get back," he grinned. He leaned forward in confusion and whispered to me, "He said Ranger ate chili cheese fries."

I burst out laughing.

"Say it ain't so," he blinked at me.

I nodded as I laughed, "oh yeah. It's so. And he followed the chili cheese fries with a cheeseburger and chocolate cake."

"It was a Cuban Cheeseburger," Ranger growled at us. "It was my duty to taste it."

"Your duty," Lester blinked at him before turning back to me. "Who is this guy?"

"Even if it was his duty to taste the Cuban Cheeseburger, nobody held a gun to his head with the fries on the chocolate cake," I grinned. "And…even though we were sharing the cake, he ate more than I did."

Lester grabbed Ranger's hands and studied them, "and you still have all of your appendages?"

Ranger rolled his eyes and jerked his hands back.

"And Little Ranger is still intact," Lester grinned.

"What are you calling little," Ranger narrowed his eyes at his cousin.

Lester looked over at me.

"Hey…this time I'm with him. There's nothing little about him."

"Ewww...," Marina muttered. "That's too much information."

I grinned, "go on, have a drink and eat some caviar and you'll feel a hundred percent better."

"That sounds like a plan," she said and hooked her arm through Lester's and dragged him off.

"It's not little," Ric grumbled much like a three year old who'd been sent to the corner.

I tucked my hand up in his elbow and leaned against him, "baby…it's not little. It, like your head, is enormous and I am constantly amazed that it fits in my body."

"Damn straight," he kissed my nose and grinned and straightened and turned to greet Bobby with a hug.

"Damn straight," I muttered. "Well, except for that little turn near the end that always hits my…"

"Okay," Hal asked as he stopped in front of me.

I blinked and suddenly remembered where I was. "Hal," I hugged him with a grin.

"You're okay," he repeated when he let go.

"Oh you know," I shrugged. "You know how Lester and Ranger get?"

"Yea," he laughed. "By the way, thank you."

"For what," I frowned.

"I won the office pool," he grinned.

"What office pool," I asked suspiciously.

"You know the one about how long it would take for you to find trouble on your honeymoon."

I gasped. "You did not!"

"I did," he grinned.

"Did you hear that," I nudged Ranger.

"I did," he nodded. "Who had the furthest out?"

"Jess, but she hardly counts since she's really new to the team."

I leaned in, "watch yourself with her. She and Manuel they are…muy caliente."

"No way," he blinked wide-eyed and turned to search the room till he found them in the corner curled up on one chair whispering. "I didn't see that one coming."

"It was only a matter of time," Bobby said thoughtfully beside him. "I mean, they were constantly going at each other. She was taking her time training the dogs to do what he wanted. She muttered to them whenever they were out of his earshot about him. I actually heard her tell them that she didn't care if they took till Christmas to figure out not to put evidence in their mouths. What's really weird is it looked like they understood her and snickered. And Manuel…he muttered about her. He calls her Cookie for God's sake. Is that the kind of nickname you give someone you despise? I don't think so. Yeah, the two of them were just a matter of time."

I laughed, "Yea…and what used to spark with ire, now sparks with something else."

"It does," Hal said in awe.

"Oh yea," I agreed. "They're all over each other…all the time."

"Interesting," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Speaking of…how's Marilyn?"

He rolled his eyes, "she moved on to a bad boy that Hector set her up with. I was too nice for her."

"Never mind," I said and hugged him around his waist. "The right girl is out there, you will find her…"

"Or you'll find her for me," he said with a ghost of a smile.

"Exactly," I nodded.

"Matchmaker Manoso," Bobby shook his head. "Now that's the one that surprised me the most."

"Well, yeah," Hal agreed. "That and Rangeman eating chili cheese fries. I still can't wrap my brain around it."

"I'm sure it's pregnancy cravings," I grinned.

"Yea, but he's not pregnant," Hal reminded me.

"Pshaw," I waved my hand at him. "I manifest some signs of the pregnancy and he does the others. It's how the male copes with the female carrying his child. It's not like he can knock me up again…while I'm still pregnant, so he has to do something to proclaim to far and wide that I'm with child."

"He's not a baboon," Bobby reminded me.

"He certainly postures like one sometimes," Hal grinned.

The two hit a high five over my head.

"He is my husband," I reminded them. "Don't talk shit about him when I'm right here."

"Sorry Steph," Bobby grinned.

"How much longer have we got to stand here," Ranger turned and interrupted us. "They're going to eat all the Crostini before we get over there," he whined.

Bobby blinked at him and then looked at me, "although. You could be right. Fascinating," he muttered. "I may have to do some research."

I grinned and watched them walk away. "The magic wedding planner said we'd have to take a few more pictures and then we could go. The line is gone on our end, so we just wait till Natalie and Tank are done and we smile pretty and then we go eat."

"Thank God," he groaned. "I'm starving!"

Lester strolled over with a couple of little plates and handed one to Ranger and one to me. "Some of everything," he winked and walked away.

"Thank God," Ranger groaned and picked up one of the hors d'œuvres and stuffed it into his mouth.

I watched him devour his plate and then slid my untouched plate on top of his empty one. "Here you go. You're gonna need the energy later. You look really hot in that tux."

He just grinned.

After dinner, I had chicken and Ranger had steak and lobster…and part of my chicken, the dancing started. The fab five (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy) had showed up during dinner to entertain and mingle. Mickey and Minnie pulled Woody and Connie to the dance floor to dance their first dance and after a few minutes joined them. Eventually the floor was filled as everyone danced and laughed and celebrated Connie and Woody's happiness.

They cut the cake about an hour after that and Ranger had two pieces. It was good. I don't know if I was that good though. Then he pulled me to the dance floor saying he needed to exercise it off.

We stood near our table dancing…sort of. We were holding each other and swaying as music played. It was better than some.

"I really screwed you out of something special didn't I," he finally asked kissing my temple.

I frowned in confusion and looked up at him, "what are you talking about?"

"This," he waved his hand around. "You didn't get this."

"Oh…you mean a big wedding," I smiled.

"Right," he sighed.

"This is bigger than I would have wanted," I admitted.

"What would you have wanted," he asked and kissed me again.

"I like where we got married," I said with a sigh. "I like that I was happy and you were happy during it."

"Me too," he admitted.

"The only thing missing was friends and family. Other than Manuel, there was nobody there who knew us and who would have rejoiced with us."

"I know," he sighed. "I'll make it up to you."

"You can't turn back time," I said seriously.

"We could still have a ceremony to sort of renew our vows or something."

"I don't need that," I admitted. "I thought when everyone first started talking about that it would be cool, but now I'm really happy with how things are. I really do love our life. I don't want to go backwards Ric."

"Would it be going backwards," he asked seriously.

"Did you mean what you said when you married me?"

"What," he blinked in surprise.

"Did you mean it? Did you mean to love me for the rest of your life? Did you mean that you were marrying your best friend? Did you mean it when you committed yourself to my happiness? Did you mean it when you said forever?"

"I meant it," he whispered softly.

"I did too," I kissed his chin.

"But you were…"

"Drunk or sober, I meant the words then and I mean them now," I said seriously. "I don't need to revisit it and do it again. That's going backwards. For us…from now on, we only go forward. Besides, we get to be in our friends' weddings and we can piece bits of them together to collage one of our own in our heads."

He laughed. "You're nuts. That's why I love you."

I grinned, "And when our daughters get married, we'll get to do it again."

He paled, "daughters…get married."

"Yea," I nodded with a grin.

"How can they get married if they're locked in a tower till they're sixty?"

"You said forty," I reminded him.

"I changed it to fifty," he reminded me.

"That's still less than sixty," I pointed out.

"I've had a change of heart," he said grimly.

I smiled. It didn't matter what he said. I knew him. He was a big bad former Army Ranger. He had done things so dark that he'd never see light completely ever again to protect others. And yet, the women…girls…he loved had him wrapped around their little fingers. His mother did. His sister's did. Julie did. Hell, my mother did. I know I did. There was no doubt that the child in my womb would as well…even if it was a boy.

"Why are you smiling," he asked scattering kisses along my jaw.

"I love you and I'm happy."

"Forever Stephanie…I meant it for forever," he said gently.

I smiled and burrowed into him and sighed. Forever still wouldn't be long enough.


	29. TTA22 29 Another Manoso chapter begins

This is it then. This is the last of this story.

In finishing this story I remembered why I stopped writing. It was the silly little criticizms that people hurled at me. I don't care if my spelling is corrected, or my grammer. I don't mind if someone points out that I left out some important point. I don't even mind if someone thinks that I put out a story that wasn't that good. Maybe it wasn't. What sounds good in my head may not translate well. Or perhaps it's not your cup of tea. I do mind when people tell me how I should write. What names I should use. Who the victims should or shouldn't be. They didn't write the story. I did. If I wanted to write like Janet Evanovich, I would. I chose to take the story a different direction...to allow the characters to grow. As the writer it was my choice and I'm fully prepared for those diehard fans of Ms. Janet to dismiss the story and I'm okay with that. It's their right. But this is Fan Fiction and if I choose to make the baby a boy or a girl...it's my call, I wrote the story. If I choose to hook Lula and Tank up forever...it's my call, I wrote the story. If I choose to have Stephanie and everyone else call Ranger Ric and not Carlos...it's my call, I wrote the story.

I won't be continuing, but I do agree that I shouldn't have left this one out there unfinished for so long. I am very appreciative of all the messages I received requesting I finish the story and for those requests, I humbly submit this final chapter. After that, I bid you all adieu. I wish you all much happiness in life, even my critics. Find joy.

Again, Jane Evanovich…creative genius, owns the characters she created. I own those that I created. I make no money off the publication of this story on this site and I will never make money off of a single Evanovich character. I do hope I make money off my own someday. Enjoy!

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The next morning Jack came to our suite and we sat down and had a long talk about how the case went, how it was solved and what they at Buena Vista Police could do better.

"Honestly," he said stirring his one sugar into the coffee I'd poured him, "I thought I'd be a prime suspect based on your profile. I am in a position of power and all."

Ranger grinned, "What makes you think you weren't?"

He laughed, "Good. I'm glad to hear that." He seemed to disappear inside himself for a moment as though he was trying to figure out if he wanted to say something or not.

I smiled, "I find that if I am unsure as to whether to say something or ask a question, it's usually best to just go on and do it. Just preface it with something that makes whoever you're speaking to understand where you're coming from."

He smiled and put his cup down. "When I called my boss to first turn the case over to you he was adamantly opposed. He'd heard from…what I can only surmise are extremely unreliable sources that Rangeman as a group and Ranger Manoso in particular were…was a loose cannon. I debated while we gathered that first bit of evidence. The whole time I was debating I was praying we, inept that we may be, didn't do anything to compromise the crime scene."

Ranger smiled, "you guys did fine."

"We were fine," he agreed. "We weren't especially good at it. We didn't even know what we were looking for."

"What was the deciding factor," I asked.

"My boss told me it was my decision and my career would either live or die by it. As we're going through the crime scene and I'm telling people to watch their steps for about the fiftieth time, I said to hell with it. So what if you were a loose cannon, you had to be better trained to deal with this than myself or my people were. I owed it to Sandy to do the right thing. In that case, it was the right thing to hire you."

"I'm glad you did," Ranger said quietly.

"Plus…I figured you didn't really want to do it in the first place. I could tell you were frustrated as hell. I figured if you said yes, then you were saying yes for the same reason that I was asking you to do it. It was the right thing." He smiled and reached for his coffee cup.

Ranger chuckled, "and you were right."

I sighed, "Sandy grew up down the street from me."

He gasped and put the cup back down with shaking hands.

I stared off into space. "Even as a small child, she was lovely," I said quietly. "She was quiet and didn't really play with the other children in the neighborhood that were her own age. She kept to herself. My mother and her mother are really good friends," I said with a slight smile. "My first baby sitting job, when I was 12, was watching her for about an hour while Lucille went to the Deli." I looked up with a smile, "it was my TEST run. You see, Jack, I wasn't the most reliable child. When I was nine I was convinced I could fly and jumped off the garage to prove it. I broke my leg."

"How terrible," he said seriously.

"It was terrible," I laughed. "I was convinced I could fly and after that everyone laughed at me and made fun of me for over a year…long after the cast was gone. But that little girl, she was almost four at the time, came over to the house after I got out of the hospital and took my hand in hers and told me I'd do it better the next time. She whispered it. She said she knew I was magic. She said the magic was all over me."

Ranger slid his hand over my knee in comfort.

I looked up at him, "I had to do this…for her. She believed in me. I believed in her. You know?"

He nodded.

"So even if you hadn't given us the case," I smiled through welling tears, "I'd have harassed my husband into letting me snoop around and eventually you'd have gotten annoyed with me and my meddling and let us help you."

"You are a force to be reckoned with Mrs. Manoso."

"Yes," Ranger said and kissed my head, "she is."

"There is more," he said quietly.

"Go on," Ranger nodded.

"I am here, hat in hands…if I had one," Jack smiled lopsidedly, "to ask a favor of you."

"Of course, what do you need," Ranger asked.

"I need my people better trained. Your people are so good it's scary."

"There are schools…"

"They've been to the schools. They...we have the degrees or the certificates or whatever was available to them, but because we don't get any real action here and I'm grateful that we don't, they haven't had the opportunity to hone those skills."

"I understand," Ranger nodded.

"I'd like to rotate them through your facility and have you retrain them. I have a feeling that a few weeks with you will be like a few years in a more professional training program."

"It's not something I've ever thought seriously about doing," Ranger said honestly. "You have to understand that we're pretty high tech and pretty high security."

"I understand that," Jack nodded. "I just want to feel better about myself and my team and I think you're the team that can make us work better."

Ranger took a deep breath, "I'll need to talk to my partner…Tank and my core team and see if it's really doable." He frowned, "I'm not making you any promises Jack, but I'll see what I can work out."

"I appreciate that," he nodded and got to his feet. "Now, I'm going to leave you alone here for you last two days of honeymoon."

Ranger laughed, "oh trust me Jack…we've still had a honeymoon."

"Ric," I groaned and smacked his arm.

Jack laughed. "I'm sure."

Ranger followed him to the door. "I'll let you know."

"Give me a call anytime you want to come back here and have that real honeymoon, I'll make it happen."

"No worries," Ranger assured him. "This was a truly incredible trip."

"Yeah and we need to get used to this kind of thing," I said serenely from the couch.

Jack frowned and Ranger glared at me.

"See you guys," Jack waved and walked out the door.

Ranger came over and flopped beside me on the sofa. "What do you mean we need to get used to this sort of thing?"

"Oh come on, do you really think this was a one shot deal?"

"You're killing me Babe," he groaned and rubbed his hands through his hair.

"It's the way life works Ric, get used to it," I got to my feet and took the empty coffee cups to the kitchen. "Now," I said leaning against the counter. "We have about thirty-six more hours of honeymoon here? What are we going to do about it?"

A gleam came into his eyes and his grin turned wolfish. I squealed and ran…for the bedroom of course. Frank and Ellen didn't raise no dummies.

Orlando International Airport is nice to come into. Leaving wasn't quite the same thrill. Security is pretty rough…or so I'm told. That's what Lula wailed to me on the phone while they waited for their flight. I wouldn't know I was boarding Rangeman's private plane heading to Miami to pick up Julie and her worldly goods. They had signed the papers and reversed the adoption. Julie was all for it. She was also all for moving to Trenton with us. I was glad. We needed some real time with her. Ric needed his daughter.

He was back in full Rangeman work mode. He was on the phone with Tank and then the rest of the core team discussing the viability of training Jack's team. Tank was all for it. So was Cal, of course they had seen Jack and knew he needed the help. There was also a grudging respect in everyone's mind because he was asking for help.

I personally suspected that eventually Jack would work for Rangeman. He got them. They got him. And while he was good at what he did, he wasn't super happy doing it. One thing you have to say about Rangeman employees, they do what makes them happy. They have this kink in their DNA that just makes it so.

I looked out the window as we took off. It was so different from leaving Jersey. Below us weren't any factories or row houses. Instead we took over neighborhoods and more than half of those houses had pools. Of course, we had a pool too, but it was indoors…usually. We could open the ceiling and the walls and bring the outdoors in, but we never had. Of course, it wasn't really warm enough to swim in Trenton when we left.

In my head I went over every detail of Julie's room. Natalie had promised to take care of the one thing I knew was missing. She didn't have a desk. At the time I made the room for her I didn't think she'd ever do any studying there. Now that she would be living with us full time, I had to take that into consideration.

Ric sat back in his seat with his eyes closed. He could have been taking a cat nap, but his perfect face was marred by a single line between his brows.

"What's wrong," I asked taking his hand.

"Nothing," he smiled at me.

"Don't lie to me Ricardo Carlos Manoso," I glared at him.

He sighed, "I'm worried that bringing Julie to Trenton to live with us is going to be too much for you right now. I mean…"

"You mean because of the bean," I raised a brow.

He sighed.

"Julie has already lived through having younger siblings. She's going to be a big help to me," I reminded him. "Not only that, she needs her Daddy right now and trust me when this Daddy's girl tells you that when a girl needs her Daddy, she freaking needs her Daddy."

He smiled. "Yea," he said hopefully.

"She brought this up to us remember? We didn't ask her to come. Rachel didn't tell her she was coming. She volunteered. She wants this."

"I'm just afraid that because she's a pleaser that she's doing it to make life easier on everyone else and…"

I got up and moved to straddle his lap, "now you listen to me. Maybe she is a pleaser. I understand that most first born children are, but be that as it may…she has something going for her that most of those first born children don't have."

"What is that," he sighed.

"You for a father," I said softly. "She has your DNA in her. She is a Manoso. Trust me, if our little adventure with Scogg last year hadn't proven that…"

"She was tough," he smiled.

"Very," I agreed with a nod. "Do not underestimate her. Do not begin to think that this child does not know her own mind. She may be a little scared and out of her depth, but I guarantee you that she'll figure out her place really quickly. She's a survivor. She's your daughter."

He pulled me close and hugged me to him. "You always say the right thing."

I shrugged and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Trial and error," I smiled against his neck. "I tested stuff on everyone before you till I became the genius I am now."

"You tested stuff," he pushed me away and raised a brow at me. "Is this about Goodman?"

I rolled my eyes, "ass!"

"I love you Stephanie."

"I love you Ric," I said and put my palm to his cheek. "Everything will be fine. Don't you understand yet? You and I…we're happy ever after."

He leaned forward and kissed me gently. "I know. I do know that."

_Finis _


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